Recovery
by PanicAtTheBombShelter
Summary: How long had it been since they were free? Sure, reset was hovering in the back of his head, but it had been so long. Too long...How was Frisk these days? - [Older FemFriskxSans]
1. Step 1 - Hello

**Greetings!**

 **This was actually intended to be a one-shot piece, but it's left open to continue writing on. I do have some random drabbles after this, and gosh, it may all tie together to make one flowing piece that makes sense! Depending on how many people read this and give me feedback I may continue on with this quicker than intended.**

 **I'm going to lay some ground rules for this:**

 **1) Frisk is female in this, and she's older. No kiddyfrisk for this story! It's partially for the reason of dealing with more adult topics (I'd feel really guilty if I made kiddyfrisk have to go through night-terrors and thoughts of suicide and stuff like that, they already go through so much!)**

 **2) Sans and Papyrus aren't straight up skeletons in this story. They are monsters, and a lot of people seem to graze over that aspect of them and focus on them mainly being walking skeletons. What holds them together? What makes their physiology tick? With that I'm going to treat their skeleton structures as exoskeletons, so they bleed (even if their blood is magic). Their faces also have a little more flexibility than normal. Other than that tweak I'm going to try and keep it as close to home as possible!**

 **Other than those two things everything should run pretty smooth continuity wise. (I also apologize for the stiff writing that this chapter might have, it's my first attempt at Undertale) So enjoy!**

* * *

There was a long sigh as the clocked ticked slowly, even the seconds seemed like minutes to the skeleton kid practically immune to the passage of time. Leaning against the counter of the gas-station convenience store, he stared down the business end of a small water-gun, curious about its makings - or maybe just trying to fill the space of his last fifteen minutes on shift - for the fifth time that night.

Clicking his cyan tongue in a bored manner, he picked at a stray strand of fabric on his blue hoodie. Then at the fur the lined the collar of the hood, and then finally at the random holes in his sleeves. The top most one was from when he was putting out a grease fire that pap had caused when he had accidentally put too much oil in the pan, for a new recipe he wanted to try out. It had been within the first month of everyone getting topside, and there was a lot of tension..

Sans boney pointer finger had hooked through the large rip in the bottom of the same sleeve. The whites of his eyes flickered in remembrance. When had he gotten that one? Four...five years ago? It was given to him a bit after the other one. Frisk, sweet kid, had just turned ten, and she couldn't stop talking about it. She was normally so reserved in what she spoke and communicated; maybe that's why he was fond of the kid?

The sweet smile on Sans face shifted into a slight sneer. Apparently human laws were weird, that the kid could only be with a responsible adult that could meet her needs. They had all vouched for Tori and the king, but no. The state fed them some line that it had to be a human, that monsters were ultimately unfit to care for a human child, and she was shipped out of county.

Sure, Tori had finally gotten a license to teach both humans and monsters, and to open up a boarding school orphanage, but by then it was too late for the kid. Sans had visited with her while she was still within reach, Papyrus joining in whenever he could. In fact, everyone had joined in on the weekly visits, but sans had made sure to visit with Frisk every day that he could, to check in on her and to assure her that they would get her out.

A blue tint filtered through his left eye at the thought. About a year out from the whole thing, and he went to fetch her himself, but a couple of humans had stopped him, telling him that she had been shifted to a new home, that they didn't have room for another kid with disabilities. As if being shy was a crime.

A chime from the front door had dragged him out of his thoughts, as he glanced at the doors that the person that had entered through was too short for him to see. A light patter of footsteps told him the person had entered, and he slumped back into his comfortable position. He stared out the windowed wall of the corner store - it was the middle of the night and he could see a couple specks of stars through the light pollution. Humans had the stars and they drowned them out, kinda stupid if you ask him. Glancing at the clock once more, he sighed as he rested his head on the counter. Five to midnight, then he could hit up Grillbz, and then crash at home around three, and then start it all over. Thankfully tomorrow was a day off…

A clearing of the throat caught him, and he looked up at the large coffee three times too big for the hand that held it, and then up at the face in front of him, and he could have sworn something would have caught in his throat, if he had one.

Short brown hair, a deep tan, and large honey eyes on the smallest female he had seen in a long time. She was swallowed in a large blue-and-striped-magenta jacket, which hung to her knees where her legs had painted on brown leggings. Her eyes were just as wide as his, but instead of shock, there was a large sincere smile. "S-Sans?" she had stuttered in shock.

Frisk. A light blue tint rose on his cheeks ever so slightly, and he swapped out his shock for joy. "Hey kid, what are you doing in the neighborhood? Don't you know the monsters come out at night?" He looked at her through lidded eyesockets. "Could get a bit _hairy_ if you don't watch yourself."

She blinked a few times, then snorted and covered her mouth as she hunched over with laughter. "God, that was awful." She squeaked through laughs, and Sans stood tall with his eyes closed and hands in his pockets.

"Well thems the _breaks_." his fingers tapped a tune, causing her to laugh harder.

"I forgot how awful you were!" She laughed into her hand and smiled at him, her eyes drenched in fondness. She caught his gaze, and the blue on his cheekbones darkened a half-shade.

"Hi, Sans."

"Hey kiddo."

There was a pause, though not uncomfortable. He looked her over, and she cleared her throat as she wiggled the rather large coffee in front of him. He scanned and they exchanged looks as he read the total. He held his hand out to take her money and she placed it, there hands lingering for a few seconds longer than deemed necessary.

Pulling her hand away she dropped it to the side, and his heart clenched for a half second. Staring at him from over her to-go cup, she eyed him as if expecting something. His brows furrowed slightly as he kept his smile.

"Where to after this kid?"

She smiled brightly as she lowered her cup, her eyes closing at the question. "New Snowden. I, uh, wanted to see some old faces, and maybe talk to Torielle…" She looked at him with large eyes as she asked his question through sight, taking another large sip.

Stuffing his hands in his pockets he stared at her with lidded eyes. "Grillbz. Been working a sixer, and I'm starving."

She nodded and smiled, slipping her own free hand into her pocket. "Cool…" She grinned at the pun as she snow started to fall through the windows in the backdrop, and Sans chuckled. "So, um, I guess I'll...see you around New Snowden?" She asked, her question hollow and echoing of disappointment. She turned to leave and Sans threw his hand out.

"Hold up Frisk!" He rushed his words, causing him to pause as blue absorbed his face and left eye. This halted her in her tracks, and she looked at him over her shoulder with pink on her cheeks. There was a faint blue coming from in front of her, where her heart was.

"...Sans?" She asked softly, holding her cup with both hands.

He blinked, cleared his throat, and leaned back. The blue from her dissipated immediately, and she turned fully to him. Sheepishly, he scratched the the back of his skull, and looked at her under under lidded eyes. "...Wanna get some Grillbz?"

She tilted her head, and then smiled as she nodded. "That would be wonderful."

* * *

The diner was mostly dim with low lights that were at each booth and above the tables and bars, with the exception of the bright glow that came off the shop-owner. Sans and Frisk were sitting at a booth in particular, and laughing at each other's bad jokes.

Sans leaned over to her and said in a low tone, "Knock knock,"

Frisk giggled, "Who's there?"

"Broken pencil,"

"Broken pencil who?"

"Eh, there was something, but what's the point?" He said as he leaned back with a wink. Frisk roared in laughter into the table. Sans smirked as he could feel his heart warm at the sight of her.

What are the chances? Well, I guess pretty good, if all your family is in one town. His smile faltered a little as he looked her over. He knew he was bad with handling time, but this kid couldn't have been gone for just four or five years. She looked too different for it to be that short of a time. With monsters it's a different bag, they got to choose how old they looked. Their magic allowed for that amount of will, but humans were different. Their determination didn't stop them from aging, it just kept them from dying…

"How old are ya kiddo?" Sans asked cautiously, causing her to look up at him. No hinting of embarrassment, just blatant curiosity like how he remembered. She leaned back as she thought.

"Huh...lets see…" They glanced at Grillzb as he brought them their orders. A heaping burger for Frisk, and a ketchup bottle for Sans. "Thanks Grillzb." She smiled at him, causing him to nod in acknowledgement as he left and she went back to her thought. "Hum….Eighteen?" She asked herself, not seeing Sans eyes widen. He gripped his bottle as he took her in. Eighteen? She looked up as she leaned forward, thinking hard. "I've been in the circuit for about eight years...and a couple weeks ago I was told that the state couldn't hold me anymore...saying I was too old...So yeah!" She smiled brightly at Sans. "Eighteen!"

Sans blinked at the hand that had jutted out at him, and he then grinned at the miffed look in her eyes. Taking a sugar packet from the holder next to him, he placed it in her palm. "Happy Birthday kiddo, hopefully this will _sweeten_ the deal." His hand lingered for a bit too long.

She chuckled as she looked at their hands, and she gripped his gingerly. Sans looked down at it and genuinely smiled, a blue tint on his cheeks, but only for a second as he pulled his hand away and drank some ketchup. Frisk almost looked disappointed.

Sans smile dropped as he took her in. She looked...sad. Her shoulders were slumped, and in this light she looked so tired. She looked so beautiful.

He closed his eyes as he pushed those thoughts to the back of his mind, smirking as she ripped through her burger in four large bites. "Woah kid, slow down! Don't want you to _choke_." She coughed at that as she grabbed for her drink and swallowed down her burger. After she regained herself, he went back to studying her. "So just rolling through town?" This question caught her as she looked up at him.

Shaking her head she swallowed what was in her mouth, and she coughed. "N-no, well, it depends." She mumbled the last part. Looking at him she sighed and put the burger down. "I..I need to talk to Torielle. I mean...I...I doubt she would want to take me in, but-" She blushed as Sans busted a gut at her statement. He laughed into his wrist and looked at her.

"Now kid, that's the funniest line I've heard all night."

She blushed as she stared down at her food. Sans shrugged and leaned on his elbows. "Tori is going to love seeing you. You did save everyone after all, all those years ago."

Sans raised a brow as Frisk bit her lip. He leaned forward to get a better look at her. Sad. He was about to reach out to her when she plastered a bright smile on her face. "You know if the hotel is still here?" She asked, her voice distant. Sans nodded, and Frisk reached into her pocket, about to pay when Sans brushed it off.

"Don't sweat it kiddo...need a place to crash that's free of charge?"

Frisk blushed deeply as she held her hand up. "No no no! D-don't worry about me! Besides, I'm sure there's no room in the house what with you and Papyrus -" he caught her wrist as she stood from the booth. She looked back at him, catching his eye flickering blue for half a second. He grinned at her as he pulled her back down.

"Sit. Eat your food. If you need a place to crash for the night don't sweat it." He shrugged.

"Bu-" he pressed a bony finger to her lips, and he smiled. "I insist."

Frisk blushed at the warmth of his fingers.


	2. Step 2 - Tears

**Oh gosh, I am just delighted by the feedback I got. I think I have like three people following this and I got two reviews! You guys are the greatest!**

 **Working on this actually gave me inspiration for creating my own AU for Undertale, and I think it's pretty solid. I still have a couple things to work out for it but overall I like the direction for it.**

 **Responses:**

 **Guest: Aw thank you you're a sweetheart!**

 **Roseforyou: Thank you very much!**

 **Anyways, I'm going to try and keep everything at the top when it comes to announcements and things I need to say so that, incase people don't want to read, they can skip right to the chapter. Ain't I considerate?**

 **Disclaimer (that I forgot to put last chapter and totally intend for all chapters) all characters belong to the wonderful Toby Fox. I just own the storyline. Now onwards!**

* * *

The only light that lit their path was the glow of his eyes as she followed close behind. Her feet ached from the miles of travel that was done over the past three weeks; her eyes lidded as her mind wandered. Determination was her only fuel some days, but that tended to be enough for her. Her eyes wandered to the back of her skele-buddy's skull, taking in the dull white sitting on faint blue in a sea of blackness. The only thing that broke the darkness was the soft falling of white flecks, and the area slowly became brighter.

She then noticed something - glancing around as they walked into the residential area of New Snowden, and the white on the ground became more prominent, she looked at the monster couples on their patios and the monster kids hanging out the window. They all looked skywards.

Tilting her head upwards, her eyes widened in wonder. Gripping her hands against her sweater, she gasped as there was a break in the snow clouds, and the galaxy stared right back at her. It was like the universe was smiling down at her as golds and reds twinkled and swimmed in her eyes.

A cough caught her attention as she looked at the monster in blue in front of her who waved her along, and she looked away in embarrassment. She had stopped in her tracks, caught in the clarity of the world that humans hid away with their cities. She shuffled forward quickly, and her foot snagged on a snow-covered rock which sent her forward. A quiet scream squeaked from her throat as she braced for impact.

She did hit something though, but the quickness of everything only stopped the momentum for a second, before she continued and finished her decent. Thankfully something warm had stopped her from making too hard an impact. She opened her eyes to look at her savior, and was met with a sea of blue. Looking up farther she caught eyes with Sans, causing her to bury her face in embarrassment.

A heavy snort sounded, as laughter erupted from her savior, causing her to look up at him again. A hand over his face couldn't hide the bright blue glowing off his cheekbones. "Man, I was trying to be cool, but all I did was _slip up_." He laughed into his hand, and she looked around to see the damage.

There was a slip mark from in front of where she was standing, and a sneaker had flown off a few feet away from them. A half-on sock was the witness to the disaster as his foot bones peaked out from their hiding space on Sans.

A Cheshire grin filled Frisks face as she propped herself up on him. "Well, you still seem pretty _cool_ to me from here. So stop being such a _heel_!" She grinned into her hands as Sans blinked at her and looked at his foot.

All he could do was hold her tighter as they laughed into each other's shoulders.

"Good one kiddo."

* * *

It was eerily quiet with the exception of a couple crickets chirping lazily in the chill of the random spring snowfall. Sans hushed Frisk as he unlocked the house and made their way inside. A couple of night lights were hovering on the floor, giving just enough light to not knock into something in the middle of the night. Papyrus insisted on them when Sans took his late-night job at the corner store a couple years ago. He wanted to make sure his brother wasn't being a lazybones and accidentally hurt himself on the way in.

Frisk smiled sheepishly at Sans and was setting her pack down in the living room, when he stopped her and started to walk her and her stuff to his room. Red stained her face. "Uh, S-Sans, I can, uhm, crash in the living room." She mumbled as she was walked up a flight of stairs. The house had a very similar layout to their house back in the underground, with Sans room all the way at the end of the hallway.

"Nah, Paps an early riser. Wouldn't want you to be _bone_ barded with his morning cheer after walking all that way. Your dogs must be barking." He grinned against the back of her head as she laughed into her hands; they were passing right in front of Papyrus' room. Once in front of Sans room the door was surrounded with a faint blue glow, and with a flick of the wrist it opened. Giving her arms a good two pats he turned and walked back down the hall.

Frisk blinked at him and tilted her head, looking back into the room then back at the skeleboy leaving her side. "This...oh Sans I can't take your room!" She yelled at him in a whisper, only to get the reply of him waving her off.

"Don't sweat it. Just try not to destabilize the tornado in the corner. Finally got it back up and running." With that he disappeared down to the living room. Sighing heavily she dragged her bag into the dark cavern of a room and closed the door with a resounding click of the lock.

Her eyes adjusted, and the moonlight from the sliding glass door on the other side of the room helped a ton. Taking a look around she noted that indeed, there was a tiny self sustained tornado in the corner, with about three socks, a lamp, and a heavy tomb of something along the lines of the function of black holes for dummies?

Shaking her head she walked over to a bed with...what appeared to be a giant cabbage on the bed? Or...she giggled as she unfolded the mound on the bed, flattening it out and finding that it was one of the softest blankets she had ever felt. She then flopped onto it and curled into the softness of the bed. It was like a cloud, and then there was something else. There was a smell in the air; nothing unpleasant. She actually expected the scent of ketchup to be present, but instead she found that it was kinda...primal. Like...like a lightning storm. There was static and raw energy that left the tip of your tongue feeling like pop rocks. It was an energy that was instantaneous and had a bite to it if you were at the wrong place at the wrong time. Frisk laid in it, on his bed and in this room that she hadn't seen in eight years.

She took a glance over the room once more, and took a deep breath of the pillow; it smelt of bones and old magic. Kinda like pine in the deep woods but with a hint of cinnamon. Before she could get under the covers though she fell into a deep sleep that had been waiting for her for months.

* * *

She started in a cold sweat. She gripped the place where her soul floated if she had been underground. Her knuckles were white with fear, and she licked her dry tongue against the roof of her mouth, leaving a sticky feeling with her that made her nauseous.

A door slammed downstairs as she could hear the distant echoings of Papyrus screaming happily. She sat up and leaned against the wall for comfort. Swinging her legs off the edge of the bed she made her way to the sliding door that lead to a snow-covered balcony, where early morning pastels painted her way through the room. She didn't care if anyone saw. She didn't care that her feet were bare, that her shoes had been kicked off sometime in the night, and that she had no jacket. She needed to breathe. Jerking the door open she rushed towards the railing and leaned against it, gripping it tightly. She gasped for breath, and her shoulders shook as she rested her forehead against the railing; the snow chilled it and brought her back to reality.

She shook as she stared at her feet, which were starting to turn a faint blue. She had stared into the void, and the void stared back at her.

Her...dream, she guess she could call it that, was decent enough. She was younger, she wore a smile, and she was on a picnic with her family of monsters. Goat mom and dad chatting happily, Undyne cooing over Alphys, the skeleton bros were doing what they did best, and flowey-flowey was smiling and being happy…

She had saved everyone...

He was glitching.

He smiled at her with the most insidious expression, and dialtone filled her head as everything faded out. Everything was static, except for that little yellow flower.

"Oh little girl, you can't save everyone. You can't save them." Flowey's words curled around her like curdled milk, and she felt herself dragged deep down.

Then there was darkness. There was nothing. There was only the void. It wasn't silent though, as small sounds, distant at first, started to build. Children. Seven of them. They were crying, begging, screaming. They layered on top of each other, the screaming growing louder and louder, until all that filled her head was torturous screams of children damned to live in this hellhole. And then suddenly they cut out as a spotlight shone on one lone figure. The first child. Her.

A soft tune of a music box started to sound slowly, as the girl looked up at her with a painted on smile and two blank red eyes. "Friiiisk." She sang to her, and with a twist of a wrist a glint from a bloodstained knife shined in her eye. The tempo of the song shifted a half-note higher. "I thought you would have ran when you had the chance." She mocked the girl, and one step from her set her right in front of Frisk.

A sharp sensation shot through her from her chest, where her heart was, where her soul was. Frisk gasped, her hand shaking as she tried to reach for the knife lodged deeply into her chest. A couple taunting clicks came from the girl holding the handle, as she stroked Frisks cheek tenderly. "Say hi to Asriel for me." She said with a guttural laugh, it slowly turning deeper and more sinister.

Frisk slammed her fist against the railing, almost breaking her hand in the process. She bit her tongue from screaming loud enough to wake the neighborhood. She cradled her hand and gripped it until the pain subsided, and when it did she cradled her face in her hands. In surprise she felt something cold and wet on her face.

Tears.


	3. Step 3 - Closure

**Oh gosh guys, I'm so sorry for the lack of update to this. I kind of got swallowed up in my other story and my plot ideas ended up wandering into that neighborhood. I do plan on working on this too, but I just got highly distracted. I still love you guys, and so I made sure to write this!**

 **Replies:**

 **xrestlessfangirlx: Thank you! I do intend to write more! I'm really glad you like my writing style.**

 **So without further ado, onto the next chapter.**

 **I do not own Undertale.**

 **...**

The morning sunlight brought a special light for Frisk. It brought her a tranquility that was hard for her to find most of the time. Yet, here at the skelebros home, although how covert it might be, made warmth crawl through her.

A growling stomach snatched her from her daze, and she laughed lightly at it. Patting it comfortably she snagged the sweater she had somehow thrown off in the middle of her sleep, and tugged it on. Peaking through the cracked door, she took note of the soft snoring from the living room.

Tip-toeing as quietly as an 18 year old girl could, she snuck down the hall, then the stairs, and then behind the couch where Sans slept pretty successfully. She then padded into the kitchen and, as sneakily as she could, snagged a carton of milk from the confines of the refrigerator, and poured herself a glass.

Slipping the carton back into the fridge she sighed as she leaned against the door of it. Sipping her drink she hummed quietly to herself, and then she stopped.

On the counter a knife glinted, the blade pointing away from her and the handle sitting, beckoning for her touch. The dull sound of her glass hitting the ground echoed in her mind as her sight sharpened on the murder weapon in front of her.

"Hey kid, you okay?" A sharp breath filled her lungs as she snapped her sight to Sans. Worry etched into him as he stood in his usual outfit, though without the blue hoodie.

Her eyes snapped back to the knife, only to find it gone. Shakily, she gripped her chest, and she pushed past Sans. Plastic cup and spilled milk on the floor. Sans sighed to himself and flicked his wrist, blue glowing around the mess and dropping it into the sink. The floor was spotless. He chased after the distraught human.

She locked herself in the only bathroom in the home. It was completely spotless, most likely by the diligence of Papyrus. Her hands gripped the sink, her knuckles bone white, and she stared into the mirror. All that stared back at her was her. Frisk let out a shaky breath and rested her forehead against the glass. She was still herself. Chara hadn't gotten to her yet...

Frisk sighed as she rested her head in her hand, cradling it as her mind wandered back to why she had actually come back home. She really did want to see everyone, and she missed them so much her heart ached. But...the memories had started up again. Corrupted memories that were so twisted that they seemed like nightmares, and she believed that for a few years.

Then...something weird happened…

It had been after one of the more terrifying sessions. She woke up violently, a scream caught in her throat. Everyone's faces..Toriel's, Papyrus, Undyne, Alphys, Sans...they...they all stared at her, stood around her, as their magic leaked from them like blood in a rainbow horror show, and their eyes...they were static.

She could feel her sins on her back, and they stuck in her like knives.

Next thing she remembered she was hugging the toilet, as her fear came rushing out her stomach. Once, twice, and with a lame attempt at a third she groaned as she rested her head against the rim. "Comeon Frisk…" She mumbled to herself, wiping at her mouth and spitting the taste from her mouth, she pushed herself up. Leaning against the sink, she ran the tap and took mouthfuls of water to help calm her stomach.

Stumbling back to the bed she was renting for the night, she plopped back down and groaned into her hand. Glancing at the clock- 3:30am -she huffed her bangs out of her face and folded forward.

Staring down between her knees, a glint caught her attention, and her heart stopped. A knife. Perfectly centered between her feet. Staring at her, wanting attention.

She clawed her way backwards, feeling herself hyperventilate as she had crawled over to the other side of the thin-twin bed, and fell off the ledge. She groaned as she clutched the back of her head and curled from the hard impact - then immediately returned to scooting as far as possible away from the knife.

The faces of her past lives sins haunted her, and those sins that she committed sliced at her skin until she was burning. It still stared at her though, the blankets from the bed did nothing to block the view of the metal glinting from bloodlust. Once she couldn't go any farther in this small room, once she was backed up against a wall, she gripped where her soul would have been floating. She wasn't a killer. She WASN'T!

Everything stopped, as she heard quiet static, and the glint of the metal twitched. It happened in a blink, but she saw it. Forcing herself to slow her breathing, she swallowed a couple times, and shakily she crawled forward. The static grew louder the closer she got, but barely. On top of the bed, she stared at the thing. Intense curiosity overriding any fear that still held her. With a deep breath and a shaky hand, she reached forward at the twitching knife that had its own soundtrack, and she felt the floor.

The knife had twitched around her hand, it parting around the foreign visitor. It seemed to pull away from her fingers in rectangular form, and the static came in roughly. "W..what?" She pulled away, and the knife seemed to short out and disappear completely. Sitting up on the bed she rubbed her arms for comfort, her mind lost in thought. She gasped and whipped around, then rubbed her neck as she then went to gather her things and leave quickly.

She could have sworn she felt someone's breath on her neck.

A gentle touch on her arm caused Frisk to scream, and inadvertently elbow the intruder in the teeth. A male groan sounded from her, and she whipped around, staring down at a wounded Sans. She gasped and pressed her hands to her mouth, her eyes wide with apology. "Oh gosh, I'm so sorry!" She knelt down next to him and leaned him against herself.

Another groan was followed by a chuckle. "Don't worry, I was floored by your beauty." He winked and smiled, displaying a rather large gap in his grin. She would have laughed, if she wasn't terrified. Sans paled. "That bad?" He got up and looked in the mirror. "Oh...That's what I get for being mouthy all the time." He snickered and turned to the worried girl, who held up the tooth to him.

"Here. I'm so so sorry!"

He snagged it from her, held it in place, and it glowed brightly. After a minute it stopped, and he pulled his hand away. He shrugged with open hands. "See? Good as new." He grinned widely at her, causing Frisk to sigh in relief.

"Good." She stared at her hands as she sat on her legs.

Sans took in her form, and sighed as he plopped a spot next to her and hung and arm over her. "Kid, what's wrong? You can tell ol' Sansy boy." He lidded one of his sockets and leaned forward to look up at her. His smile faltered.

She looked absolutely terrified.

Grabbing both her shoulders he turned her to him. "Hey now, what's wrong? Ain't like we're back at the judgement hall." This caused her to start crying, making him panic. "Come on kid, you're making me feel tear-able here!" Frisk sniffed and wiped her face off.

"Sorry."

Sans sighed and pulled her into his lap, holding her close and leaning against the wall. "It's okay, just next time unzip your mouth and talk to me." She nodded into him and rested her head against his sternum. "What's swimming around in that head of yours?" He asked softly, and when there wasn't any response he decided to switch topics.

"Tori should be up and about soon, and when she sees you she's gonna baw-l." He bleeted the last word, causing her to chuckle. "There we are…" He floated himself up to standing with her in his arms still, and he opened the door with his magid. "Hungry? Grillbz ain't open yet, but I'm sure I can whip up something for ya."

Frisk blush as she pressed her face into the jacket. "You don't have to carry me."

Sans tisked at her. "Ain't letting you walk until you get a grip. Could have rubber legs, and I can't have ya fallin' for me like last night." She groaned as she leaned against him, earning a chuckle from him.

He sat her down in a chair and went to cooking on the stovetop. He didn't use his magic, the motions and actions calming his mind from the image stuck in his head. Her terrified look. He sighed as he poured some powder into the pot of boiling water. He read the instructions and continued stirring as the concoction thickened. Using his magic to grab a couple bowls from the high shelf he poured them each their own portion of it and walked it over to Frisk. Sitting next to her blue-glowing spoons dropped into the bowls, and he pushed one to the human. She blinked at the porridge and smiled.

They ate quietly, yet the silence was comfortable. Frisk hummed happily and finished her meal off, and blinked as she looked at the second bowl, barely touched, was pushed to her. She looked up at him, and stiffened at how intense he stared at her.

"Eat. You're skin and bones, which ain't such a good look on ya." He said lightly, as if it were some joke. Frisk pulled herself into her sweater more. Heh, there was a reason why she wore such padded clothing. His hand landed on her arm, causing her to flinch. "Hey." She met his gaze, and eyed the lighthearted smile. "I'm only trying to help ya kid. Same as everyone else here in this town. We're family." The word hung bitterly on his magical tongue, but he shook the thought off. Frisk needed them for support. Who knew aside from herself what she went through?

Frisk looked at the bowl, and then at him, and then sighed in defeat as she gripped the spoon. "Weren't you going to eat?"

He shrugged and leaned back into his chair. "Ain't hungry. Don' really need to eat." His grin widened as he watched her dig into the porridge. It seemed to falter slightly though as he leaned forward and rested his head in his hand. She was thin. Her sweater hung off her in a way that didn't in her youth. Her collar bone popped out from under the skin, and her cheekbones were prominent, but not in a good way telling from the deep set eyes. At least the bags under her eyes were less, but not gone. He needed to keep on her to eat, and so that's what he tasked himself with doing. He felt the warmth of having a goal rest in his core, and he grinned at that.

"Want more kid?" He quipped as she finished off the second bowl, and she shook her head.

"No, I'm stuffed!" She beamed at Sans.

"Like a turkey?"

"Turkeys would be jealous at how stuffed I am!" Frisk giggled at the thought.

Sans shrugged and pushed himself up from his seat. "I better see you gobble up all the pie Tori's gonna make for you when she sees you." he grinned, and Frisked laughed, smacking his arm.

"You're awful."

He snagged his jacket and pulled it on in one move, then grabbed his keys and locked the door behind them, making sure all doors were closed and lights were off with blue will.

…

Toriel hummed to herself a tune she had heard from the children the day before during recess. Something about posies and roses, and that's all she heard and didn't catch the rest. She wore a brown sweater over the blue dress that was made of soft cotton. The dress ended at her ankles, and she had no need to wear sandals. Her maroon eyes eyed the bag that rested on her shoulder and was tucked safely between her and her arm. She locked up her small home Asgore and her shared, happy with how much he changed once they were surface bound. He didn't hold any ill will towards any of the humans, and in fact was the biggest teddy-goat one would ever know. She had forgiven him quickly once she took note of his change of heart.

She laughed to herself as she turned to the bright blue of the early day sky, and she paused at the figures at the end of the walkway. Just at the end was Sans, who winked at her, and…

Toriel dropped her bag. "My...my child?" She asked, her breath hitched as she took in the sight of the lanky young woman. She had tears in her eyes, and Toriel hadn't realized she was on her knees. She had seen her in dreams only, and she could have sworn she was in another one.

The contact from the human girl assured her that this wasn't a dream. It felt too real.

Toriel held Frisk close, sobbing into the young girl as she cradled her close. She was so fragile, like she would break at any point if she was too tight.

The door opened behind Toriel, and a deep gasp sounded. Another body joined the hug, as Asgore sobbed into Toriel's shoulder and kissed the top of Frisk's head.

Sans smiled at the scene, and leaned against the fence. It was good to bring a family some closure.

 **...**

 **Please Read and Review, thank you!**


	4. Step 4 - Reassurance

**Hi guys! Sorry for not putting up the next chapter sooner, I got caught up in prepping prints and stickers for my booth at Denver Comic Con. (I'm a pretty decent artist if I do say so myself). So I've been pretty crazy busy with that. But now that I don't have to stress like that I actually got the time to give this next chapter the time it deserved.**

 **There will be some feels in this. Wonderful feels of bonding. I hope you guys enjoy!**

 **Replies:**

 **XxCrystalstarxX: Thank you! I kinda burned through all the SansxFrisk stuff I could find, so I needed to contribute! But yeah, I'm pretty excited to get into the meat of things, but at the same time I'm enjoying the ride to get there. I'm really glad you're liking this.**

 **madmalitiangamer: Thoinks**

 **Neven98: thank you**

 **So good oh mah: Thanks! Feed off the glory of the tension! All the foreshadowings.**

 **Mute: *hands you this next chapter* here you go!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Undertale and the amazing characters that live in it!**

...

Calls were sent out all morning as Asgore made arrangements for a surprise welcome home party for the human that had freed them all those years ago. Toriel had been multitasking, switching between baking many things that she learned of over the years on the surface, to fawning over her child that was brought back to them. Frisk helped as much as she could, and thankfully she had no incidents with the static knife that had been following her for the past eight years.

In this small home, with the cozy kitchen where her and her mother baked enough to feed an army, and with her father off in the living room making the walls shake from the boom of his excited voice, Frisk felt like she didn't have to keep moving.

Toriel gasped and turned away from one of her pies to tend to the daughter with tears rolling down her cheeks. With a kind smile and sweet, comforting words, Toriel took her at her word and went back to her tasks.

A loud knock caught them from their tasks. Frisk shot curious looks at the goat couple, and Asgore replied with a soft grin that curled through the soft fur of his muzzle.

"Come in!" He called, and the door slammed open so hard that the wall practically cracked on impact. A disheveled Papyrus stood in its place, his head snapping around frantically like a crazed Doggo. It was quite a sight for the human. It earned a soft chuckle from the absurd contrast from how she last remembered him. His battle body was gone, replaced with a t-shirt with a nicecream quote scrawled across the front in a kind font. It was paired with pull string pants - seems he just got done with his run of the morning.

Then suddenly, zeroed in on Frisk, he mowed over the king, who happened to be accidentally in his way, and scooped up Frisk in a tizzy.

"HUMAN! WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL THE GREAT PAPYRUS WHEN YOU RETURNED TO NEW NEW HOME?! I , THE GREAT PAPYRUS, HAVE BEEN WORRIED ABOUT YOU, AND WHEN MY LAZY BONES OF A BROTHER TOLD ME ABOUT YOUR ENCOUNTER WITH HIM LAST NIGHT I HALTED MY DAILY TRAINING TO COME SEE YOU IMMEDIATELY!" Papyrus held Frisk close in a hug, and she responded in kind with a large hug around his neck.

"Sorry Papyrus."

He pulled her back and shined a large smile at her, orange tears in the corners of his eyes. "WELL, THAT IS QUITE ALRIGHT HUMAN. EVEN SKELETONS NEED TO RECHARGE THEIR BONES, SO I UNDERSTAND YOUR NEED TO RECHARGE YOURSELF. JUST DO NOT LEAVE FOR SO LONG AGAIN!" his voice cracked at that, causing tears to roll down Frisk's cheeks, and she pulled Papyrus back into a hug.

"I don't plan on leaving like that again."

"GOOD." Papyrus then about-faced and started to leave. Frisk blinked from over Papyrus's shoulder, at the two goat monsters who were laughing at some unsaid joke.

She turned back to Papyrus. "Uh, Pap, I kinda need to be here."

"NO, THE KING AND QUEEN HAVE SPECIFICALLY GIVEN ME INSTRUCTIONS TO DISTRACT YOU UNTIL LATER TONIGHT."

Frisk stared at him wide eyed. "But I thought you said Sans told you about me coming home?!"

"BUT ONLY AFTER THE KING CALLED ME ABOUT A PARTY FOR YOU. I GAVE MY BROTHER A GOOD EARFULL BEFORE RUSHING OVER HERE AT MY MAXIMUM RUNNING SPEED."

She turned to the two as her and Papyrus crossed the threshold of the house. Asgore laughed from his belly as he waved, and Toriel laughed into her paw as she waved as well. "Have her home by five Papyrus." She called after them, and he gave a large thumbs up before the door closed.

…

The town had grown in the years that she had been gone. She remembered when there were only a couple buildings built and a couple homes - the monsters were in mid transition to the surface. The mayor of Ebott City had allotted them a few acres to start out with - he allowed it for the sake of more voters and to show that he was a kind mayor. Who knows, maybe with the new vote he would have enough to make his way to being president. At least, that was his hope. So, with the few acres the mayor gave them in good faith, the monster's thrived.

Though, over the years she was gone, the town looked completely different. The entrance to the underground was still open, for those that wanted to visit old stomping grounds and those that didn't want to leave but were given the option to if ever they chose to. New New Home had blossomed from a few blocks large to a town with areas for different monsters. The magic the monsters had put into the weather had made for distinct districts - a constantly chilly area for those that were used to Snowdin, a desertous climate for those that thrive in the Hotlands, and a very wet place for people that lived in the Waterfall area (and for the temmies, of course).

Mainly residentials were in these areas though, since the center of the town was where people took care of their wares and business affairs. The guy who runs the nicecream cart even opened up his own shop for those that loved nicecream enough to know where to come get some at all times of the day. Frisk smiled to herself as she looked around from the perch of Papyrus's shoulders. She tapped a pattern on the crown of his skull as he hummed the tune to it. Some old tune that ran through the lifeblood of the underground - a song that was embedded in all those that lived there, no matter how short of a time that was. The statue she stuck the umbrella with was where she first heard it when she was so young.

Soon after people they passed by started to hum that tune, until nearly the whole merchants square was humming and singing it. Sadly though someone took note of it, causing them all to snap out of their stupor, and back to work they went. Papyrus and Frisk laughed to each other, him gripping her ankles and her petting the top of his head fondly.

"SO HUMAN, WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN ALL THESE YEARS?"

Her laugh caught in her throat so quickly that she nearly choked on it. He shot a concerned glance upwards at the sound of her coughing. Then, a nervous hum from her, and she patted his head in a sibling sort of way. Papyrus pouted as his shoulders drooped.

"HUMAN..." he groaned.

She sighed at him. "Papyrus, why don't you call me by my name? We're on the surface, I'm sure there are other humans you've met." They glanced at the three humans walking with a dog monster and a bird monster. A weary huff came from Papyrus as he scratched his cheekbone at the thought.

"I GUESS."

"And you don't call them all 'HUMAN'," she did her best Papyrus voice, her eyes bugging as she put her hands to her cheeks. A playful slap to the thigh from him made her laugh, which made him laugh. She curled over his skull to look him somewhat in the eye. "You probably call them their names, like Linda, Stacey, Bob-"

"ON THE CONTRAIRY, SINCE THE TEMMIES ALREADY HAVE A BOB, I CALL ALL OTHER BOBS 'BOBONE', 'BOBTWO', 'BOBTHREE'-"

Frisk laughed and nodded. "I get it I get it." She nodded and crossed her arms over the top of his head. She leaned against his head and rested, her knees hooked over his shoulders and her butt hanging off the back. "But, I guess what I'm trying to say, is that…" she looked at him and tapped his head, earning an acknowledging grunt from him. "You know my name, right?"

There was a small silence from him, then, "OF COURSE I DO HUMAN. YOU ARE FRISK THE HUMAN. I JUst…" his voice quieted, causing him to stand even taller to make up for the falter in his voice. Frisk rubbed the side of his skull in an affectionate way, for him to continue and that she was still there. He cleared his magical throat and stared forward. "YOU WERE GONE FOR SO LONG HUMAN. YOU LEFT SO ABRUPTLY, AND YOU WERE SO TINY COMPARED TO THOSE OTHER HUMANS. I WAS SCARED FOR YOU, TRULY AND DEEPLY SCARED." He glanced up at her, and their sights met. She hugged his forehead, which caused him to smile and pat her back. "SO I AND MY BROTHER, WHEN WE HEARD YOU WERE TAKEN FROM US, THAT YOU WERE TAKEN AWAY FROM EVERYONE WHO CARED FOR YOU SO MUCH, I AND MY BROTHER LOOKED AND LOOKED EVERYWHERE WE COULD!" He chuckled dryly at memories. "IT WAS A YEAR BEFORE I REALISED WE COULDN'T FIND YOU, BUT BROTHER NEVER STOPPED LOOKING! HE SAID THAT 'IF WE ARE HER FRIENDS THEN WE WOULD KEEP LOOKING' AND-" Papyrus stopped in the middle of the road, with monsters and humans glancing at the two with sympathy as they passed.

Papyrus's shoulders started to shake as he stared forward. Frisk gasped as she saw orange tears fall from his eye sockets. "FRISK, THE HUMAN, I SINCERELY, AND WITH ALL OF MY SOUL, APOLOGIZE FOR NOT BEING A GOOD FRIEND TO ONE OF MY OLDEST FRIENDS. I APOLOGIZE FOR IT WITH ALL OF MY BEING, AND IF THERE'S ANY WAY I CAN MAKE IT UP TO YOU, I WILL!" He let out a signature laugh that trailed off with a sob, and Frisk hugged the poor skeleton's head tight to her.

"Papyrus, you did all you could! I'm okay! I swear I am, you are one of my best friends, and you being yourself gave me the strength to come back here and find everyone again." She cooed to him, causing him to glance up at her.

"R-REALLY?"

"Yes! Bring me to eye level for a second, I have something I need to say to you." she was scooped up and held by her armpits. He looked at her with such raw openness that it made her want to cry for what her absence did to him. What her absence did to everyone. She rubbed his tears from his cheeks and smiled brightly at him. "Papyrus, you did nothing wrong. I was too young, and things happened so quickly, and the world was still so afraid of monsters. So please, believe me if you need to believe anything at all, it was never your fault. You, and Sans, and Undyne, Alphys, Mettaton, Mom and Dad, none of you are at fault!" Her eyes bore into his sockets, and it filled him with a resolve that had been missing. She gripped him on both sides of his face and stared him down. "It is not your fault. So stop carrying it around like it is!" She smiled at him, a smile just for him, and she was pulled into a bone-crushing hug.

"THANK YOU, FRISK THE HUMAN!" He said loudly into her shoulder, and she laughed as his voice made her bones vibrate. With a few pats to the back of the head she was put back on his shoulders and they continued onward with the tour.

…

The skelebros house was mostly the same to what she remembered from down below, now that she could look around since that it wasn't dark or that she didn't have to be cautious. There were a couple differences - the couch seemed to be a newer version, and the kitchen was way larger. How hadn't she noticed that this morning? She paled at the counter, memory of the digital knife in her mind. Oh yeah…

Papyrus had sat her down, making his way to the kitchen and demanding that she make herself comfortable.

"IT'S STILL EARLY IN THE DAY, AND A YOUNG HUMAN NEEDS TO EAT." Was his reasoning, and so she flipped on the T.V.

Mettaton blew the camera a kiss and went back to talking with a human woman on a talk show. Ellen Degeneres was in the corner, and Frisk laughed to herself. Either those two got along swimmingly, or else they were at each other's throats off screen. She hummed as she sunk into the extremely plush couch; it did her heart good to see Mettaton doing well in the human world.

"Nice speech you gave at the merchant's area, kid."

She nearly fell out of the couch as she turned to look at the short skeleton who had appeared out of nowhere. One of his knees was propped up, his arms were behind his head, and he had one eye open, staring into her. She was sprawled over the couch, and she stared at him disheveled.

She swallowed hard as she sat back up, propped against the couch arm, and she gripped her jacket. "Geese Sans, don't you have work?"

His grin widened and shrugged non-committedly. "Called in sick." Both eyes closed now.

"Surprised you don't do that often." She grinned and nudged him with her foot. He grabbed it and pulled her to him with surprising strength. Not that she wasn't terribly heavy or anything.

"Guess my jobs just like me that much."

"Jobs?!" She stared directly up at him, her legs dangling off the other arm and her body lying in his lap for the most part.

One of his eyes snapped open and looked down at her, his grin still wide. "Surprised?"

"Well, yeah! You slept so much in the underground-PLEHBEH!" She sputtered as an arm was draped over her face, causing him to chuckle as he watched her flail her arms in protest.

"I had about five Hotdog and Hotcat stands just on that one route you kept taking kiddo. I was practically an entrepreneur down there." He poked her side, and practically folded over her as he watched the show.

"I get it Sans, get off me!" She whined, flailing around pathetically, causing his grin to spread. He crossed his arms over her and stayed there, closing his eyes.

"Nope. Gravity decided to weigh me down."

"Sans!"

"Ya know kid, you make for a wonderful pillow."

"Oh my god Sans seriously!"

He started to snore, causing her to laugh loudly.

"Papyrus, help! A random Sans has fallen asleep on me! Hellllpppp!~" She cried dramatically.

Papyrus leaned out of the doorway from the kitchen, grinning at them with lidded eyes. He was sporting a chefs hat and a 'Kiss the Cook' apron, stirring a large pot of spaghetti. Tisking, he shrugged. "THE GREAT PAPYRUS WOULD NORMALLY HELP, BUT IF THIS SPAGHETTI ISN'T CONSTANTLY STIRRED IT WILL CLUMP UP AND NO ONE WANTS THAT." he ducked back into the kitchen.

She then started to flail violently, laughing in frustration. "Oh my god you guys!" She was about to fall to the floor when a pair of arms snaked around her and held her by the waist, a couple fingers grazing her from under her jacket.

Frisk stopped, and glanced at the skeleton folded over her. One eye was staring at her, half lidded, with a lazy grin sitting lopsided on him. "Keep falling kiddo, and someone's gonna think something's up." His voice said deeply, suggestion thick between the letters. Her ears earned reddened tips that matched the red on her cheeks.

A clanking from the kitchen alerted the two, and in a blink she was back where she was before Sans came by. Her gaze snapped to the kitchen, watching the back of Sans as he left towards the island. He was slouched forward slightly, with his hands deep in his jacket pockets. He hopped up on a barstool and grinned at Papyrus, who was dishing out spaghetti.

He glanced at her, waving her to the stool next to him. Frisk got up and walked over to them as Papyrus took his seat on the other side of Frisk, and she pushed back the red to think about later.

 **...**

 **Papyrus feels and a little Sans. The next chapter is gonna be all about the welcome home party. :) Wanted to get some stuff out of the way first before that.**

 **Poor Pap, he needed closure.**

 **Thank you for reading, please review!**


	5. Step 5 - Airbound

**Alright! A long chapter for everyone as a thank you for being so patient with me!**

 **I had the hardest time coming up with content for this chapter. It's like...I didn't have writers block necessarily, but there were some things that, once written, didn't feel quite right and so everything kept on getting scrapped! I'm still not entirely too happy with parts of this chapter, but at least it's at a good point to where I have a place to run with for the next chapter.**

 **And hey, it's extra long for you guys, so that's a plus!**

 **Also, oh gosh I totally didn't realize how many followers this story had! 25 of you guys?! I feel so happy that there's that many of you! And 8 favorites? You guys are just the sweetest group of people! I honestly didn't think this would get that many people looking at it, so thank you thank you thank you so much! (and 12hundred views? AAAH! People look at my stuff!)**

 **You guys fill me with determination to keep writing my stories.**

 **Replies:**

 **Guest: Thank you sweetheart :)**

 **Heheh anyways onto the next chapter! Undertale belongs to Toby Fox!**

 **...**

Laughter filled the two story household, as Papyrus regaled long-winded speeches of what he was up to in Frisk's absence. The house was coated in spaghetti noodles and red sauce that stuck to the walls and ceiling, as well as the occupants that resided in it, by the time he was done.

Even the upper floor was coated in spaghetti sauce, and it looked like there was a miniature explosion that missed all but Papyrus himself. With a twiddle of his thumbs and an embarrassed 'Nyeh' he shrugged off the feeling and went back to his exaggerated storytelling.

Frisk merely laughed it off as she shook her hands of the thick red sauce that clung to her. The girl was covered head to toe, with her bright eyes and large smile breaking the illusion of the sauce being one giant figure of tomato paste. Sans, in a similar state, flashed his glowing blue eye, and the whole house started to glow in the same cyan.

Almost instantly the house was clean, leaving just Frisk in her tomato skin.

Sans gave a Cheshire grin as Papyrus rattled on about his adventures, and went back to stirring the now full pot. Frisk scrunched her nose at it, knowing full well what was in the pot, and sighed as a large glob of sauce dripped from the tip of her nose. A deep belly laugh came from Sans as he eyed the red trail that led up the stairs to the bathroom. With a resounding loud close of the door he only laughed again.

With the two brothers alone they grinned at each other.

Papyrus was the first to speak, taking note of how Sans stood now versus how he stood yesterday, or a week ago, or even years go, when Frisk first left them unwillingly. Setting the pot down and clearing his throat while spreading a childish smile, he started. "WOWIE IT'S GREAT TO HAVE FRISK THE HUMAN HOME!" He swayed, rocking on the balls of his boots. Changed out of his morning exercise clothing, he stood in a pair of thin black slacks with a white button-up shirt that had the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. He had donned the red scarf of his youth since a reminder in the shape of a young human had plowed back into his life only hours earlier.

Sans only nodded and grinned widely, scratching his cheekbone and then stuffing his hand into the faded, blue hoodie. It was a nervous habit he picked up years ago. "Yup."

The younger yet taller of the two's smile shrank slightly, narrowing his sockets at the older yet shorter of them, and leaned forward while stuffing his fingers into his pockets. Thumbs dangled out towards his older brother as he observed strongly. He could see sweat forming. "BROTHER." He almost groaned.

Sans shrugged. "Paps, I ain't pullin' your leg." He smiled cheesily, holding his leg up and swinging it clockwise.

Papyrus' sockets narrowed even further, until they were perpendicular forms of his usual eyes, and he was practically squatting down to Sans' level. Sans' smile was tight as he stood straight, unflinching at his younger brother. "SANS." Papyrus squawked, gaining an acknowledging grunt from the short skeleton. "I KNOW THAT THINGS HAVE BEEN DIFFICULT AS OF LATE. WITH MY JOB TAKING ME FAR AWAY FROM HERE. TOWNS OVER EVEN!" He stretched his arms out wide, as far as his wingspan would allow. Sans just kept his stretched grin, hiding his clenched hands. Then suddenly he slammed his hands down on Sans shoulders, who was still unphased. "AND SO, BECAUSE OF THIS, I COULD ONLY ASSUME THAT YOU'RE FEELING...BONELY." he looked sideways as he said the pun through gritted teeth.

"You know what they say about assuming Paps."

"BUT I FEEL LENGTHS BETTER KNOWING THAT OUR FAVORITE HUMAN IS BACK HOME, AND I KNOW THAT, AS MY BEST FRIEND, SHE WILL LOOK AFTER YOU! BECAUSE SHE LIKES YOU!" Stars seemed to sparkle around Papyrus as he shined his brightest smile at Sans. Sans smile faltered for a few moments, but was quickly replaced with a hollow grin. There was a pain that echoed in Papyrus' soul, and with a deep sigh he stood his full length. "BROTHER, I KNOW I MAY SEEM THICK-HEADED, THAT I DO NOT KNOW WHAT GOES ON, BUT I KNOW YOU." He gestured at Sans, who just stood there, staring at Papyrus with lidded eyes. His standard grin was there, painted on as his white dots had faded to a light grey. With a sigh Papyrus closed his sockets. "I KNOW THAT MY BROTHER IS A STRONG SKELETON, FORMER MEMBER OF THE ROYAL SENTRY, THAT MY BROTHER HAS GONE THROUGH A LOT TO GET HIM AND MYSELF TO WHERE WE ARE NOW, BUT…" he opened his eyes, and paired them with a heartbreakingly sad smile. "BUT I ALSO KNOW MY BROTHER HAS NOT BEEN HIS USUAL SELF SINCE THE HUMAN HAS BEEN GONE. HIS SOUL HAS NOT BEEN AS BRIGHT."

Sans shrugged again, kicking a foot at some settled dust from the outside world. He heard a small tapping as he sent a small pebble along the floor. He was studying the floor, and how the grain of the wood curled. "Ya really think this is the right time to be talking about this? Kid's in the shower Paps, don't really want her overhearing all this." He stated.

Papyrus waved him off. "THIS IS THE PERFECT TIME SANS. HOW COULD SHE HEAR US OVER THE ROAR OF THE MIGHTY CLEANING ROOM?" Sans chuckled at that. Papyrus glanced up at the doorway to the bathroom, considering his next words. "...SANS?" Sans grunted in response. "I'VE NOTICED THAT YOU'RE HAPPIER TODAY THAN YOU HAVE BEEN IN A WHILE…" he turned back to Sans, who kept his grin.

"I'm always happy Pap, as long as I know you're okay."

Papyrus smiled brightly. "YOU KNOW THAT IS NOT WHAT I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, MEANT...ALTHOUGH IT IS VERY FLATTERING." His face almost split from his large smile, causing Sans to chuckle and nod to himself.

"I know bro."

The distant sound of water turning off caught their attentions, causing Papyrus to laugh his trademark laugh. With hands on his hips he announced loudly his presence through that laughter. He was a proud monster if there ever was one.

Footsteps stumbled through the upstairs bathroom, then a loud silence, before a clicking of the doorknob turning. Her drenched head popped out through the sliver of a doorway, before she cleared her throat in an embarrassed way. "Uhm...Pa-Papyrus? O-or...Sssans…" She coughed again and sniffed loudly. "Do either of you know where I can get some-" she laughed before clearing her throat. The two brothers smiled patiently at her nervousness. "Um..some…" she mumbled the last part.

"...REPEAT THAT?" Papyrus called up to her.

She laughed again, into her hand as she looked anywhere else but them. "...some clean clothes?" red stained her cheeks as she held up the stained and drenched clothing that was dripping a watered-down spaghetti sauce.

Sans roared in laughter at her miserable expression, grinning widely as Papyrus sent him a sort of glare. Papyrus then beamed at Frisk, who looked just like a lost puppy hiding behind that door. "OF COURSE, FRISK THE-FRISK JUST FRISK." he started up the stairs and walked past the bathroom, causing Frisk to stuff herself further behind the wood door until everything above her nose peaked out around the edge. He continued past his own room and towards Sans'. "MY BROTHER SHOULD HAVE SOMETHING THAT WILL FIT-" He blinked down at the shorter skeleton, back to where he was, then back to his current position in front of his own door.

"Don't worry bro-bro, I got it. Just give me a minute." He grinned at Papyrus, then slid into his room. Papyrus scoffed as the door clicked, and tapped his foot impatiently.

A minute or two passed, and Papyrus was about to break down the door, when Sans spoke next to him, in front of the bathroom door.

"Here ya go kiddo. Some old clothes of mine. They should fit." He held them out to Frisk, who snatched them and slammed the door closed. He only chuckled at the whole thing, and laughed loudly when he caught Papyrus staring him down.

"...BROTHER." he started, hovering over Sans who grinned as if there was nothing to speak of. Like it was a normal occurrence and that there was nothing to be suspicious of. "HOW DID YOU.." Papyrus started to vibrate in frustration, causing Sans grin to widen into a full on smile.

An exasperated sigh from the young adult caused the brothers to turn. Papyrus squeaked loudly as he inhaled, creating a bizarre sound to come from him. Sans' smile dropped and was replaced by a small smirk. "You...you sure there isn't anything...a size smaller?" mumbled Frisk.

She stood, in all of her 5'4" glory, tiny under the large black-with-white-vertical-lined shorts that clung to her - thankfully the elastic was barely stretched and tight to her - and a white tank that barely covered her. Her arms were crossed over her chest, and when Sans took note of how little she was actually covered his face glowed blue.

Papyrus, being the dense sweetheart that he is, picked her up under her arms, and twirled her around. "YOU ARE ADORABLE, HUMAN!" he screamed in delight.

Frisk did all she could to quell the embarrassment, but still she yelled to be put down. She wasn't heard by the person it was directed at, since he was caught up in how adorable she was. She puffed out her burning cheeks, and buried her face in her hands, waiting for the ride to be over with asap.

She could understand it if she was still ten, but she was - was an adult! With adult parts! She was a young woman, and the fact that she was being held in such a way made her more aware of this fact. She peaked at Papyrus through her fingers, the spinning getting to her quickly. Maybe...maybe she was still seen as that ten year old…

She could feel herself go green quickly from temporary motion sickness.

Finally she was set on the ground, and Frisk crouched, her hands pressed against the floor as she urged her head and stomach to stop spinning.

The sudden weight on her back seemed to work as she was enveloped by a blue jacket. Looking up with a heavy blush on her face - partially from what just happened - she took note of Sans and his sideways glance being anywhere but on her. A blue glow had taken control of his face. "Here kid." he turned to face his back towards her. "Didn't realize how, uh, big boned I am compared to you." he hummed to himself.

With a soft smile she slipped into the jacket, which was two sizes too big on her, and she sighed in relief. She turned to thank him, but he was already next to Papyrus, seemingly scolding him in a gentle way to not do something like that without permission.

"Bro, Frisk isn't a kid anymore. You gotta ask before swinging someone around like that."

"I HOPE I DIDN'T MAKE HER UNCOMFORTABLE!"

"Nah Pap, she understands. Just letting ya know for next time, okay?"

There was an understanding nod from the taller of the two. Frisk felt a warmth in her heart as she went to them with a kind smile.

...

For the second time that day she flew through the air, being tossed by an overly excited Undyne once she walked through the doorway. Blushing but amused, Frisk laughed as she was tumbled and twirled by the fish woman.

Then, once outside in the front yard of Toriel and Asgore's home, she was tossed between Undyne and Papyrus, taking their turns to see how high she could fly. Of course, once she started to become level with the tops of the old pines in the area she started to scream for them to stop. Papyrus tried to catch her to set her down, but Undyne intervened and continued her tossing game. Finally she was caught by Papyrus and ran away with.

Frisk swore she was going to puke all over Undyne out of spite.

Undyne, smiling widely all the while, chased after the two. She was quickly tripped by Sans, who whistled nonchalantly at her accusing glare. "What's the big deal funny boy? I was only having some fun!" She scowled as she stood up and brushed off her front.

His smile turned into a flat grin, humor all but gone as he stared at the fish lady with a temper. "Thought I wouldn't have to tell you not to toss the kid around, but you're just as bad as Pap about boundaries." He sighed and kicked at a rock, shrugging off the scoff that Undyne sent her way.

"What's the big deal chuckles? Told ya when she found her way back to us I would give her the ol' treatment the punk needs. Been awhile since she's gotten any of it." She beamed.

He chuckled and looked at Papyrus, who stood Frisk on her feet and did a basic check. Alphys had taught him that a few months back. "Yeah, but that was back when she was...ya know...tiny."

"She's still tiny bonehead!" she jestured to Frisk, who stood only a few inches taller than in her youth. Growth spurt was not an idea her genes took to. "Gabby loves it when I toss her around, and the punks only got a foot on her!" She ignored the stare Sans sent her. "Punk's still a child in monster terms!"

"But Frisk ain't been a kid for a while 'Dyne."

A knowing look glazed over Undyne's eye, a scowl puckering on her red lips. Her fins flexed at the idea, but it was replaced by a grin that took over half her face. "Aint gonna stop me from tossing her around! FWUHUHUHUHU!" She jetted after them in full speed. Sans shook his head and flopped down onto the grass.

Leaning back he sighed, staring up at the blue sky dotted with fat white clouds. Why was he being so...hovery over Frisk? She could handle herself...He groaned and rubbed his face with a wide open hand. Fingerbones scratching at the area on either side of where a nose should have been.

There's been something in the air for the past day though, and whenever he's paid any attention to it, it's been red flags about Frisk and her safety. The image of a way-too-loose-tank on her flashed in his mind, and he rubbed his face harder. She was an adult, she could handle herself…

His white dots faded into a dull grey as his sockets lidded. Something was following her. It crept at the corners of New Snowden. It crept at the corners of his mind. Something reached out for her, and all he could do was keep an eye on her until he could get a chance to have a talk with her about it..

He was hefted into the air a short height. "UNCLE CHUCKLES!" A young voice screamed as tiny arms supported him, causing him to laugh at the suddenness of it. He looked at the small round yellow face that had a mop of red curls jutting out into a wild afro, and a large white smile was plastered in a similar fashion to Undynes.

Sans grinned as he stood on his feet and patted the young monster on the head. "Hey there squirt." He winked at the young girl who flung herself a little too hard at him in a hug. He groaned and patted her back. "Careful, only got one HP. Be gentle with these old bones." He sighed dramatically, gripping her shoulder for support.

She laughed and nodded, stepping back and smiling at him. Gabriella Undying, or Gabby for short, was a six year old yellow monster that had dull spikes where her ears would have been, instead of fins like Undyne had. She had a muzzle much like Alphys', as well as a small tale that jutted out behind her. She wore a large smile like Undyne, and had a large mop of crimson red hair, much like Undyne, but it was never able to listen to anything and so always sat as a large afro of red that swallowed anything past the round of her face. Her eyes were striking, sitting large on her face and always jumping to things in the environment. She was smart, but she had a short attention span and tended to learn through example. She had a slim figure, and took very much after Undyne in how she communicated with others.

Sans only prayed she took after Alphys in the ways of school.

And instantly she was gone in a blur. Sans chuckled as he turned back to Papyrus being lifted by Undyne, and once Gabby made herself known Papyrus was instantly dropped.

There was a laughter from behind Sans, causing him to glance over his shoulder and turn his attention to a very worn out Alphys. She made her way to stand next to Sans and look at the scene in front of them. "I don't know how Undyne does it with that child." She laughed and yawned widely, rubbing her eye under her round glasses. "I could barely keep up." She hummed in a happy way.

Something caught her eye, and instantly Alphys was awake and alert.

Frisk laughed as Gabby jumped off the height of Undyne and went to piledrive Papyrus, but noticed Frisk before that was done. So instead Gabby jumped and landed on the new human and lifted her as a show of strength. Undyne and Papyrus cheered as Frisk laughed above the strong monster child.

Alphys stepped forward, reaching out gently to the human.

"Is that…"

"Yup." Alphys jumped out of her skin at the sudden reminder of Sans.

A nervous laugh left her. "Do.." she glanced at Sans, who was looking at her through one eye. His hands buried into his baggy jeans. "Do you think…" Alphys glanced back at Frisk, who was now spinning Gabby in her arms. "That...it would be alright if...I said hi?" She clicked her tongue at the thought, sweat building on the socially anxious reptile.

But she was already being ushered by her shoulders, as Sans pushed her along gently. Alphys started stammering and listing off reasons.

"Oh I think I left the oven on do you smell something cooking I think my buzzer is going off there's a list of patients out the door a mile long is it suddenly so hot my this is unseasonably warm weather even though I like the heat oh no maybe it's really too cold I should check myself out-"

Her throat dried up as she stared at the human girl, all grown up now, and there was a sudden punch to the gut that had formed instantly. She stared down at the ground. "My the grass sure is lovely this time of year."

Arms were suddenly flung around the anxious reptile, who almost screamed from the sudden burst of attention. "Alphys!" Frisk cried happily, pulling herself back and looking at her closely. Then, a bright smile from Frisk, and all of Alphys' anxieties melted away, and together they chatted about things as if they were never separated.

The group of tight-knit friends continued on as if things had never been disrupted. As if Frisk had never left and had grown with them to be this age. Gabby took to Frisk, chatting about her favorite shows. Adventure Time was her current favorite, and the two mothers couldn't deny the child's love of the show. Although it would never compare to Kissy Kissy Mew Mew in Alphys' eyes.

Soon enough Toriel called from inside the house, fanning her face as she leaned out into the wind of the late afternoon, the smells of a meal large enough for the whole neighborhood wafting through the air. "Dinner! Dinner to all!" She called out in a sweet way.

Asgore smiled and pushed open the large windows, fresh air circling into the warm house. "Dinner to all those whom need a warm meal!" he bellowed, and soon people from the neighborhood started wandering towards the welcoming home.

Frisk was greeted by familiar faces and friends that she had met in the underground. By the time she and her group of close friends had pulled food for themselves, dozens of monsters had joined them.

Soon, as the sun fell and dusk had painted the sky in yellows and reds, lights that were strewn through the neighborhood in front of the king and queen's house had lit up as if a festival was planned all along. A few monsters had set up in the corner of the small courtyard and started playing instruments.

Then monster couples started to dance. Children were swung around by loving parents, lovers were wrapped in each other's arms as they square danced - one of the few dances the mass of monsters really took to - and groups of friends danced in circles as the lights of the night lit their spirits.

Monster kid, now known as Tommy, had asked Frisk to dance at the start of the night, before the other monsters of the neighborhood had settled into the random event. Frisk had finally taken him up on his offer, laughing as she was the one that had to make sure he didn't fall over. Even though he didn't have arms he made one hell of a lead. The two old friends laughed and danced into each other, jumping and twirling to the joyous beat of the southern style music.

Sans, chilling in the far back of the whole thing, leaned into his seat as his eyes rested on Frisk and her current dance partner. He then watched as she bounced from Tommy, to random other monsters who she had made friends with in her youth. Even Muffet had asked for a turn. That was a pretty dance, and Muffet made for a wicked dance partner.

Something tugged at him though, and as he looked at his boney hand his mind drifted back to when she had wandered into the store yesterday. Her fingers had lingered, and he chuckled to himself bitterly at the warmth of her. Guy was losing his mind and the reason hadn't even been back in town for 72 hours. He slapped his hand to his face and groaned. His magic needed to settle down.

A clearing of the throat made him blush a deep blue, and he glanced over at the knowing smile of Toriel. He chuckled and turned his attention to her. "Hey Tori, goat to see you." He smiled cheesily, causing her to laugh.

"Well, I saw you here Sans, and I kneeded to know if you were fairing well."

The two chuckled amongst themselves before settling into a comfortable silence. "Kid's got your love of bad jokes Tori, better watch out or she'll give ya a run for your money."

Toriel chuckled and smiled at Sans. "It might be your love of bad joke."

Sans shrugged. "Ultimately it's a victimless crime if she finds us humerus." he grinned. "Could come in handy one day."

Toriel laughed for a long while, but then it petered off into a humored chuckle, then finally a pregnant silence. He glanced at her nervously.

She was never this silent unless there was a reason.

Before he could start she took the initiative. "Asgore and myself have a meeting in a few days time."

He nodded slowly, looking over her. He was missing something. "Uh, that's great Tori."

Her eyes shot to him as she faced forward. "It's about the future of expansion for the monsters."

If Sans had skin he would have paled a skin color. He cracked a smile. "Ah…" he turned back to Frisk frolocking with the monsters, watching as she spun and started her dance with Papyrus. It was quite a sight as she gave the energetic skeleton a hard time keeping up.

Toriel smiled as she watched the scene. "Do not get me wrong, Mettaton has been great for spreading the good word of us monsters, going so far as to play roles that only advocate the greatness of diversity in the world, although it hinders his growth as an actor. As much good as he's doing, there has been a call from the media and the political side for myself and Asgore to speak for monsterkind, since we are still considered the leaders of our race."

"Well, that's great Tori, but I still don't get why you're acting so hesitant." He shrugged, still watching Frisk dance around her friends.

Toriel nibbled on her lip discreetly. "It is just...I do not know how to tell her. How she will react."

Sans raised his supposed brow. Now he knew where Frisk got her uncertainty from. He laughed and shook his head, turning to Toriel with a wide grin. "Tori, she's going to flip about it."

Toriel straightened at that statement. "Do you really think so?"

"Think so? I know so! Just look at her, dancing with everyone as if nothing's changed. Of course she's gonna love ya doing this for everyone!" He held his arms out in Frisks direction.

Still though, he hadn't hit the nail square on the head. She was still apprehensive about something. "But...where will she stay for the week that we are gone?"

Sans stiffened as his arms dropped to the side. Oh.

"I mean, she just arrived home unannounced, and yet we are supposed to leave mid day tomorrow for a week. She must have abandonment issues, and if I were to leave now, then…" tears started to form at the corners of her eyes as she watched Frisk. "She had to live life for so long, grew up for so long without her family, and here I and Asgore are leaving her again for a week…" A tear dripped from the poor goat woman's eye.

Sans watched his old friend go through such suffering, and he could feel his throat clog with magic. He tried to swallow it away, and when he tried to speak his mouth was dry.

She looked at her hands, lost. "I suppose I could tell Asgore to go without me, but he's always been so unstable without someone there to support him. Times in the Underground have taught me that many times over. And asking her to move around when she has just finished with her last bit of moving around is out of the question. It could destroy her health. I just…"

"Hey." She looked at him, staring at his calming smile. "Don't sweat it. Me and Pap will look after her."

Toriel's eyes widened. "Oh, no Sans, I could not ask you to take on such a request. You already work a late shift as is, and Papyrus has his own work during the day. I do not want to run you boys into the ground with the addition of looking after her."

Sans shook his head and grinned at her, winking at her. "Don't get sleep anyways Tori, I've always been a sort of eyesomniac." She chuckled and wiped away her tears of worry. "Besides, Paps loves having her around. She can chill at our place, and play a game of bones." He motioned as if rolling dice.

Toriel smiled and nodded. "Fine, I will take you up on your word. I will let her know after everyone returns to their homes."

With that the two old friends turned back to watch their friends and family have a merry time. Asgore had even gotten into the mix and danced with his daughter. The glow of the lights filled everyone with determination.

 **...**

 **Please please please let me know what you think of Gabby and how I'm writing everyone. I don't want them to come off as out of character, and so I would love any form of comment or critique. Heck, even flame me! It's a bit chilly over here and I would love the warmth from flammers.**


	6. Step 6 - Warning Signs

**Hi guys, I've been running into more writers block with this, so if this chapter seems disjointed, then that's most likely why. I've been trying to find a good point to insert plot into this, since I want to give you guys more than just "Herpderpnowkiss!". Besides, I love a good slow burn in my stories. Builds up wonderful things that bare fruit in the future!**

 **So, I apologize for the slow update. Life kind of ended up showing up and dragging me away from my writings. Also, pokemon go guys, pokemon go.**

 **There's 30 people following this...30 people?! I don't want to stare a gift horse in the mouth or anything, but I'm really surprised my silly little story got that many followers! Like, woah! So, I'm debating on putting together something akin to an askblog for you guys. Let me know what you think, if that's a good idea or a bad one, I would love to know what's on my followers minds!**

 **Time for some replies!:**

 **madmalitiangamer: Fwuhuhuhu~**

 **Thank you!**

 **Bobfour: Thank you! I'm glad that you liked Gabby, as well as the story! (Long live the exclamation marks~)**

 **Anyways, onto the story! I do not own Undertale, all wonderful things of the sort belong to the fabulous Toby Fox.**

 **...**

The morning had been just as trying for Toriel as the night had been, seeing the human child with a bright smile and sad eyes at the mention of the two parents having to leave for a week. Frisk only shook her head at the nonsense Toriel kept spouting.

"My child, I have no qualms about canceling it and staying here."

"Mom, I'll be fine!"

"But you just got here, and I feel terrible about abandoning you at such a sensitive time."

"Mom! You aren't abandoning me!"

"Oh my child, please do not hate me for leaving you so soon after your return to us."

"Oh my g- mom! I'm fine! Stop worrying!"

"But-"

"Mom." There was a stern look between the two, both stubborn in their ways. "It's been eight years."

"Precisely, my child, eight years and yet-"

"And yet-" Frisk raised her brows as a warning. Toriel stared at her, expectantly, with a scorned look on her face. "-and yet it's only a week more. I will be fine mom!" she stated, with a warm smile. She gripped the large goat womans hand and squeezed it reassuringly, even though her fingers could barely scale it. "I'll be right here, right where you left me, with my friends. I've been gone eight years, what's another seven days in comparison."

These weren't questions, more of statements that would hopefully quell the larger woman's fears.

A tight smile would have to do, as well as a thousand reassurances from both of the skeleton brothers. Papyrus was easy enough, his boisterous statements were solid in Toriel's heart, but Sans was another matter.

His carefree attitude put her on edge when it came to her beloved daughter, but a few well-placed puns cut the tension of the situation.

Only with an assurance and sweet words from Asgore did she finally let the issue lay to rest.

So, with Toriel calmed and her fears sedated, the two goat parents packed and departed early in the morning, with Frisk waving them off with a smile.

It was only with a rustling from the forest on the other side of the clearing, and a pair of red eyes that stared into her, did she decide to go inside.

Frisk ended up flopping down onto the couch in the Dreemur residence and staring at the ceiling. A song in her mind came to the forefront, the song lulling through her ears, as if a ghost of a memory was replaying it for her. The cosmos reached for her, as reality faded out and she was left with the stars of the universe. This continued on for so long, and her mind wandered to the world of her past.

The digital knife that screamed at her to be held by her, or someone very much like her, kept creeping to her minds eye. Its image was so clear and strong, as if it was dangling above her. Waiting to fall to her, plunge through her human heart and come out the other end in the hand of a demon. It hovered closer, as if it was really diving at her in slow motion, but she knew it was a trick of her mind.

She knew it was...right?

"Hey.."

She blinked sharply, the knife and the cosmos instantly gone. Instead, Napstablook hovered in its place, parallel to the human girl laying on the couch. His headphones blared the same song that was humming in her mind not moments ago. "Uh, hey Napsta." She sat up until she leaned against the solid arm of the couch, hugging one of her now-folded legs.

Napstablooks eyes flickered over her, snapping from her trembling fingers to her pale complexion. He had an amazing poker face though, since it only gaped neutrally at her. As always. "If you're busy Frisk, I could always come back…" He started to drift upwards, but was instantly called back by her.

"No no no I'm not busy!" She waved her hand, pushing back the creeping fear that sat in her throat. Frisk cleared her throat and looked him over with a smile. "Let's hang out!"

Napstablook seemed flustered at her actions, before looking her over again. "...no, nothing like that." Frisks smile tightened at that, but she recovered. Not quick enough for the ghost though. He noticed a lot of things, being a ghost monster helped with that. his eyes warbled for a minute, as if tears were to fall, but alas, only crocodile tears. "I just...wanted to talk to you...about something...but it can wait…" melancholy soaked his words.

Frisk only smiled patiently, and patted the couch next to her.

Instead, Napstablook laid on the floor.

Frisk followed suit, laying the opposite way so that her head was close to his. "What's up?"

"...oh, nothing much….the ceiling?" the words lulled out, causing Frisk to beam.

"Did you make a joke just now?"

"...no…"

"Hmmn."

Minutes passed, long enough for the universe to encroach on them again, and Frisk was ten again. The small girl in the underground, listening to new-age music with a melancholy ghost. It was nice, and she wished for more of it, that it would last longer and that time and space really stretched out for her like this all the time. Then, words came in a sad ooze.

"...Frisk...Do you...see the red eyed….human?"

Her world was instantly how it always has been. The wood beams of the ceiling came back into sharp clarity, and the overhead light seemed to come in, double and overlapping, the suddenness of them burrowing into her mind like a hole in the head. She winced, but Napstablook didn't seem to mind. His black rings for eyes popped to her, taking in her sudden reality check. "Um…"

"Oh...if...you don't want to...talk about it…" he sighed his words.

"No, it's not that…" She groaned as she rolled onto her stomach, looking at him as she propped herself onto her elbows. "I'm just surprised by the straightforwardness of that…"

There was a hum of consideration, before Napstablook started to fade out. "I guess that was pretty blunt…"

"Why do you ask?"

He paused, before materializing completely and studying her, still lying on the floor. "...well…" there was a long pause, but Frisk only encouraged for him to continue. "...I saw...the human...but I also didn't...red eyes…"

And like that, Napstablook was gone.

Frisk, sighing at the avoiding nature of her ghost friend, shrugged and sat against the couch. She stared at the ceiling, puffing her cheeks at his evasiveness. She was going to be alone pretty much all week - the skeleton bros worked at the weirdest times, completely counterintuitive to each other, so she couldn't really bug them. She just didn't feel right about that, when one was getting rest they needed. Then there was Alphys and Undyne, and there little one, but that was pretty much out since it was a weekday. She could always wander town...see the changes…

A figure from the corner of her eye caught her attention, suddenly and without remorse. There was a familiarity to it...one that made her hands shake, even while they gripped each other. Her breath became unsteady, which it noticed. It noticed, and she could tell, because its red eyes blinked amusingly at her.

Red eyes.

Red eyes…

Her head snapped to the creature in the corner of the room, only to find nothing.

She was out the door and on her way into town.

…

"So, you see Li'l buddy, that's how good ole' Burgerpants got his start up here." said an orange cat monster, leaning against the counter with a slacked grin. He held a sausage in his mouth, acting like he was smoking, his eyes taking how she hung off his every word.

Frisk stared at him, bemused, and leaned against the counter. Absolutely no one had shown up at his shop since opening, even though it was in a prime location in the town square. So, she decided to bug him until someone did show up. She smiled at his 'wisened' attitude. " I thought you hated the nickname? Why go by it up here?"

An irate look stuck to him, as if driven insane by the name. "You'd think I'd go by a different name! But no, gotta sell the image honey, and if that image happens to be a shitty title placed on you by thuggish non-twins, then that's the hand you're dealt!" he slammed a tight fist onto the counter, and she followed his glare across the way to two girls. Bratty and Catty, in all their duplicate glory. She furrowed her brows at Burgerpants.

"They're still pestering you?"

A sideways sneer was her answer as he stared at the two. Then, in a blink, his standard paranoid expression was in place. The entrance to the shop chimed, and a few humans and monsters made their ways inside the small shop. Frisk smiled and waved at Burgerpants, taking her leave. "See you later lil buddy." He called before she disappeared out the entrance.

Her feet seemed to carry her subconsciously, through the small town that seemed to be growing quickly. Through the town square she went, waving at monsters she knew and humans she didn't. Gradually, after taking in the small shops friends and strangers owned, she found herself staring past the trees that surrounded the town, towards the sky and at the hazed blue that coated the nearby mountain - Mt. Ebott.

The mountain itself had an ethereal quality to it, as if a giant was overlooking them in the way a ward looks over their young, and the longer one looks at it the more one starts to hear a hum. As if the mountain calls. As if it's beckoning to those listening, even though the task it calls for is done.

Right?

The hard impact of her running into someone sent her ground bound, and the light misting of still-fresh snow flew around her. "Yo!" Frisk blinked up at them. Hovering above her was a tall yellow monster, with a goofy grin and dark bags under his eyes. His tail swayed in excitement, but then planted itself firmly on the ground as he leaned back onto it for support. Lifting up one of his feet, he held it out to the human girl, who took it. She was pulled to her feet, and the yellow monster went back to grinning at her. "Yo, in a rush?"

Frisk looked him over. He was a bean sprout. Tall and lanky and this was all the more noticeable by his lack of arms and how he was mostly leg. "No, just sort of wandering."

Tommy chuckled and stood tall, prideful in his height next to her - he had still been short in comparison to those like Undyne and Papyrus, two of his idols, and so being so tall next to this short human friend of his made him feel oh so important. The fact that he had learned how to use his tail to his advantage in walking also filled him with pride. "Well, then, wanna go grab a bite to eat?"

She nodded. "That would be great!" she walked by his side, the two of them wandering over to Grillbz Diner. Occasionally she had to make sure he didn't lean too far to the left or right.

…

The lowlights of the diner helped with Sans headache, though Grillby's self sustained light source helped nothing with his frayed nerves. The crackle of the elemental caused Sans to grin at him, waving off the silent concern, as the bartender continued wiping down a glass.

"Nah, ain't nothing much Grillz, just got too much sleep." A few pops in the form of a scoff caused Sans' grin to falter. He only waved off the barkeep and turned to his ketchup. "I ketchup on sleep enough as is. It's nap of your business." A loud pop from Grillby and a shaking of his head caused him to tend to other things.

The skeleton sighed to himself and rubbed the top of his skull. Too much sleep. Three hours. Anything more than that and his head was filled with cotton and his bones ached. It's not like skeletons needed to sleep anyways, same with ghosts and undead monster races, but yet his brother got a full eight hours. Sans scowled at that, how his brother was able to sleep like the dead, but anything more than three hours would have his bones barking.

He sucked on the bottle, hoping the potency of the condiment would drown out any bad times his head was giving him.

A duo of voices broke through the low hums of the patrons in the diner, and from the reflection of the mirrored wall behind bottles filled with potent drinks, he eyed two familiar faces.

One made his soul clench.

It didn't stop a large grin from staining itself onto his face. The two pairs of footsteps made their way to the bar, one pair quicker than the other, and a tap on the shoulder caused him to hum in acknowledgment.

"Sans? What are you doing up? I thought you worked the night shift?"

The two white pinpricks in a sea of black took in the concerned look of Frisk. Her eyes squinted, her mouth straightened into a tight line, and he snorted at how she looked exactly like how she did in her youth. She even wore a dark blue sweater, even though it was missing the purple lines.

She huffed through her nose, and only then did he notice her company. Tommy, that monster kid that had asked her to dance last night, was hanging around Frisk. His grin tightened.

He patted her head heavily, before hopping off the stool and sending glances to the two of them. "Forgedaboutit, kid. Enjoy yer play date." he shrugged off her surprised - if not confused - expression, and he waved at them as he left the diner.

Tommy and Frisk glanced at each other once the door closed. Tommy only smiled at the put-out human, before nudging her with his hip. He grinned at the wary expression. "Yo, we can do a rain check. Go check on him!" he nodded at the door. Frisk, smiling sweetly, hugged him tightly and then followed after the short skeleton.

The armless yellow monster smiled and sat on one of the stools, reading the menu plastered on the face of the bar.

Frisk rushed out of the warm bar into the chill of the winter day, and followed after a cyan jacket. "Sans!" She cried after him, causing him to stop and turn. A tired grin was replaced by a fake smile. He eyed her as she stopped in front of him, panting heavily.

One of his eyes slid close as he stared down at her. "Kiddo, ya didn't have to run yourself ragged."

She gave him a sarcastic open-mouth smile, before shaking her head and standing straight. "It's not that," she heaved a breath before clearing her throat, "I just wanted to see if you were alright." she looked him over worriedly.

Sans only gave her a tight smile, before shrugging and closing his eyes.

A lot was not alright with him, and honestly seeing her dragged up a lot of it. It wasn't all bad, but...he didn't feel right putting any of it on her.

Going to pat her on the head again he found his hand caught on something. Opening one of his eyes he stared at his hand grasped in her two. Her eyes bore into him, a twinkle of determination, and her fingers curled over his. Her hands were so warm…

"Stop treating me like a kid that can't handle anything."

A chill went down his spine. "...What?"

She stared at him, her grip on his hand tightening slightly. "I...I see how you shrug me off. Like when I was a kid. Whenever we had our meetings in the child care center. I would ask you something, and you...would shrug it off, like it wasn't right to put that on me…" Her grip tightened. "Like I couldn't…" There was a shine to her eyes as her lip trembled.

His soul trembled at that. He rested a hand on her shoulder, his thumb running circles. "Sweetheart, I…" He was suddenly so aware.

The eyes of everyone. Their pity, their stares. Dozens of eyes, watching something that was supposed to be so private, like their laundry was hung up for everyone to see.

Frisk swallowing loudly and her hands pulling away from his kept him there, in this moment. "S..Sorry…" barely caught by him, and his teeth grinded against each other in frustration.

Grabbing her hand before it dropped away fully, he walked back to the house with her in tow. "Kid, you sure have poor timing." If he was going to bare his thoughts to her, it was going to be behind closed doors.

 **...**

 ***jazz hands***

 **Thank you for reading, please review!**


	7. Step 7 - Heavy

**Howdy howdy howdy, my wonderful readers!**

 **Oh god it's almost three in the morning** **\- I mean, welcome to another installment of Recovery!**

 **This chapter is a little dark with the feels, but there's some light fluff, so, eeeeeehhhhhhhhhhh~?** **I'm getting there be gentle with me!**

 ***awkward early morning that most likely wont be early morning by the time you read this jazz hands***

 **So yeah, replies:**

 **madmalitiangamer: All the things! ALL THE ROMANTIC TENSION! *eyes Sans and waves at him* hOi~Thank you buddy! Just gotta find that groove.**

 **XxRubyxX:...*hands chapter to you* ouo enough sansk for you?**

 **Kyaaaaa: *insert temmie face at all the puns* HOOOOOOO BOOYYY these puns are rather humerus, I don't think I'm carpal-ble of hand-eling them. Huh, 4G? I bet that's super shnazzy to read off of! I'm glad you could find the optimal way of reading my story!**

 **Ah, I love you guys, I really do.**

 **Anyways, onto the chapter! I do not own Undertale~**

 **...**

Large owl eyes followed the pacing of the short skeleton in blue. Frisk sipped on Spider Cider, gnawing at the tip of the straw as she bit back words that would most likely take away from the one sided conversation.

Well, if you could consider mumblings under the breath and low groans a conversation. He combed his skull, the pink toothy plastic vibrant against the off white of his hand. Though, words did get out loud enough for her to hear, but they were disjointed and confusing at best. At worst, they were just slews of vowels and consonants that really didn't make sense...

Wingdings? Frisk had only heard it through a speech program on a library computer, so she kind of knew the makings of it.

Was he having a conversation half in common and half in Wingdings? A soft smile sat on her lips as she continued chewing at her straw. It was endearing.

Only when she cleared her throat did he jump, and fully remember that she was even there. Stashing his comb into his jacket pocket he grinned a wide, goofy grin, his sockets closing, and he hummed a somewhat chuckle. Humming again he glanced around the room in an Alphys sort of way, and at that point Frisk was worried.

"Sans-"

He pressed his bony hands to her mouth, his gaze still distant and constantly searching around the house. A hushing sound hissed through his teeth, and he wasn't actually smiling. Not that he was frowning either, but his exposed teeth were encircled by a very neutral oval.

It was like he was listening to the whispers behind the wind, and when Frisk rested her hands over his did he finally look at her.

His fingers relaxed, but stayed in place, and his fingertips pressed against her face. His white pupils widened and his sockets lidded as he stared at her warmly. His neutral oval curved into a soft grin, and his hands only pulled away far enough for her to speak.

Her hands curled over his, and a light pink filled her cheeks at how warm his hands actually were, and how smooth the bones were.

"Sorry about that kiddo." He hummed, before pulling away and taking his seat on the couch next to her.

Frisk only shook her head, her hands still holding onto his and her drink balanced in the space between her legs. "Don't apologize, but I am worried about you."

Sans tugged his hands free of hers, only to rest them behind his head as he leaned against the arm of the couch. One leg hung off the couch, while the other one was folded with the knee sticking upwards and leaned against the back of the couch.

Swallowing back her disappointment she picked her drink back up and eyed the house. Gurgling pops sounded as her drink's life came to an end. She always seemed to end up back at the skeleton brothers home, didn't she?

Her feet carried her from the couch to the trashcan in the kitchen. Every other home of her friends seemed to bother her in some small degree. Not that they were awful or anything, but she never got a sense of safety from any one else's home like she did here. Even if here wasn't on the surface.

 _A young Frisk giggling as she rode on the shoulders of Papyrus, and even when a large handful of snow was stuffed in one of his sockets there was no ill will. Only the two of them laughing in their own way, until Papyrus was practically screaming from the skull freeze the snow brought him._

 _The two skelebros and herself in the living room of the residence in Snowden, partaking in spaghetti and hot chocolate, as they watched one of the annual Giftmas shows._

 _The three of them passing out in the warmth of the evening, a young Frisk curled up against Sans, who draped an arm over her protectively._

Arms snaked around her waist, pulling her close to the stocky build of Sans. Her face heated, and her fingers curled around the blue faded fabric. He mumbled into her shoulder, the vibrations against her skin making her smile.

She could have sworn she felt lips moving in motion.

"Do you ever feel haunted, Frisk?"

Her shoulders tensed slightly, her eyes glazing over in thought as her fingers fiddled with the baggy fabric of his sleeves. A sad smile sat in her, and yet, through the cold metal of memories she felt the pit of her soul burning warm.

Her head tilted against his, resting her head against his skull, where she nodded ever so slightly. "...why do you ask?" she prodded gently.

Silence, then shifting, and then the sharp jab of his chin against the slope of the crook of her neck. His whites were grey, and distant, and the duo swayed slowly. Frisk could only smile, shake her head, and lean into him.

Lacing her fingers into his she rubbed her thumb on his hand, and decided to push. "Sans…" she looked at him and pressed her cheek to his cheekbone. "You dragged me all this way to talk, but yet…" she smiled and nudged his cheekbone with the bridge of her nose. "Don't tell me you've been bonely."

He blinked at that, and then grinned at her with lidded eyes.

Not even a chuckle from him.

Her eyes widened, all humor dropped. She went to turn to face him, but was held tight as she was. Her brows furrowed at him, her honey eyes flickering with fear for her dear friend. "Sans, what's wrong?"

At that moment he seemed so tired, and so he sighed and closed his sockets, burying his face against the crook of her neck. He mumbled against her neck, and she did her best to ignore her shivers and goosebumps.

"Remember the last timeline?"

Their sways continued. "...Yeah, though it's been a while."

He chuckled at that.

Her eyes lidded as she glanced down at his hands. Her fingers danced, skimmed along the joints and valleys of his exposed bones. "Why do you ask?"

A deep sigh that brushed the crook of her neck, and thankfully her swallow was quiet. "Well…" he chuckled, shaking his head against her shoulder. "Heh, it's nothing." Frisk puffed her cheeks and nudged him.

"Sans! Stop beating around the bush!"

Instantly she was staring in the black void of his sockets. An old, long forgotten fear clawed at her soul, the dark tendrils brushing at her cherry soul. His fingers pressed hard against her arms, and he seemed to tower over the short human. His tight smile only drove the intimidation.

"Word on the grapevine of the void says you have a sociopath hanging around you Frisk."

Her heart raced. So, she wasn't the only one that noticed her. Sure, Napstablook could see her, but...it was different knowing Sans knew…

Her stomach seemed to drop out at the meaning of that statement. Sans knew.

A noncommittal shrug, and she looked away in shame. She honestly wasn't sure. Even if Chara was there, was she really there? A quick shake from him caught her eyes in his empty stare.

His smile seemed tired.

"Kid…" His grip tightened.

Frisk smiled, pained, as she pressed her hands to the sides of his skull gently. He flinched at the contact, but then settled as the white dots of his came in as a dark grey. Her fingers shook, so he loosened his grip on her. Foreheads pressed together, and she closed her eyes so tightly. "I...I'm not…" She laughed bitterly. "...You don't have to worry Sans." She went to step away, only to be grabbed and pulled close to him.

He held her for dear life.

God, the dust. The dust that he remembered. The red scarf. The fear. The hatred he felt. Watching bodies pile up, echoes of bodies that piled so high. Her pile of bodies. The part of him that snapped, and the bloodlust that psychopath bled for him.

"Hey. Hey…" She hummed, running her hand along his spine, comforting him and holding him close. "Don't start." She spoke, her head propped against his collarbone. She laughed for herself more than him, feeling the warble on the corners of her throat. A wet sniff from her, and a wet laugh. "We're doing so good, Sans." She coughed, pulling away and rubbing her face.

He looked over her, stuffing his hands into his pockets. Her bright smile hid her broken words.

"I made a promise. Remember, in that beige room with the stuffy air and the two adult humans?" His eyes flickered over her, and his grin tightened.

" _I promise Sans! I promise I won't restart! I PROMISE!" A small Frisk screamed as she was pulled through a doorway by a pair of human social workers._

He nodded stiffly.

Biting her lower lip she put both her hands on the sides of his face, and smiled warmly up at him. "I won't let them take me over again. I've done fine this long." She closed her eyes as she smiled as largely as she could.

His magic caught in his throat. This long?

Before he could ask she pulled away and stretched her hands over her head. Yawning largely she hummed. "We should do a big movie night! You, me, and Papyrus!" She smiled and turned to him, dropping her arms to her side.

Sans stared at her, before stuffing his hands into his pockets. "Gonna have to take a raincheck on that bud. But I'm sure Papyrus would be dying to do that tonight. Figure it'd be a good hangout before he has to leave for a couple days." He said in passing.

Frisk gawked at him, blinking largely in a dramatic sense. "Whaaaaaat?"

Sans shrugged and plopped down on the couch. "Yeah, he's gotta take a trip to a couple towns over. Talk with some monster folk about their adjustments with what's been going on with Mt. Ebott. I told him he was working himself to the bone, but that didn't really tickle his funny bone." He grinned with closed eyes.

He shifted around, making himself comfortable. His words tugged at her, about Mt. Ebott, but she could as Papyrus tonight about it.

Frisk sighed, glancing at the clock. One in the afternoon. She had time to go run to the rental store and pick up some movies. Maybe she could invite Alphys, Undyne and their little one over for some movie madness too. Determination flooded her at the idea of spending some quality time with her friends.

She went to the door when she was caught by the wrist. Blinking at Sans she tugged at her wrist, only to have it not budge.

"Nhh, why the rush?" He hummed, cracking an eye open at her.

"Weeeellll, because you're about to crash, and I kind of need to go raid the rental store." She hummed, looking at him with lidded eyes, feigning unamusement. The way he twisted his grin into an upset scoff was very endearing to her. Like a kid about to be put down for a nap. A smile escaped her neutral expression. "Besides, Mr. I-have-work-tonight, shouldn't you be sleeping in your room?"

He stared up at her stubbornly. "C'mon, nap with me, like old times."

She gawked at him, then at her wrist. "...Aren't...we a bit too old for that?..." She bit her lower lip as she tried to ignore the warmth of her cheeks.

A long, drawn out sigh, with another tug on her wrist. "Been too old for it since I've known you. Humor me." He grinned widely. "Our talk left me rattled."

Puffing her cheeks at him she stared, until finally she sighed and nodded, feeling the weight of their conversation take it's toll on her too.

She hated having emotional conversations with Sans, it always left her drained and sleeping for hours.

So, with a new resolve, she flopped onto the couch, then onto him, and curled up on top of him with her head resting under his chin. The weight of his arms on the small crook of her back gave her a sense of peace, and she hummed into him.

"...not too heavy?"

"Nah, just right." he mumbled absently, before his snores crept into her mind, which dragged her along to dream land.

 **...**

 **I think this is a decent sized chapter. I really wanted to give you guys some fluff. I think I did it right. Should I increase the levels of fluff for next time, or is this sufficient levels of sweetness? I must know!**

 **Thank you for reading! Please review!**


	8. Step 8 - Vibrations

***waves at everyone* Hi guys!**

 **I don't really have much to say, I'm pretty excited about how this chapter came out, I just need to figure out how I'm going to proceed to the next part. It'll be figured out, it just might take me a while until I can actually get to it. I'm getting into a good groove writing everyone together though.**

 **Replies:**

 **madmalitiangamer: Yus, Sansk indeed. Thank you!**

 **Guest: ZOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL-I mean thank you!**

 **Sly: Your grading system makes me happy~**

 **Guest: *hands over chapter* Here you go!**

 **So yeah! Next installment! I hope you enjoy, and remember! I do not own Undertale~**

 **…**

Laughter filled the small field, and the soft footfalls of a short human woman tumbled through the lush green of early spring. There was a haze in the air, as if it had just rained, and the dew that clung to the long blades of grass verified this. Short chocolate brown hair lifted effortlessly as the small woman spun in her light blue dress, and laughter spilled into the air again.

Her feet carried her, through the tall grass until they started to shorten. Then there was sand, crunching and shifting under her toes, and the lulls of small ocean waves filled the air like white noise. The woman stood, with a determined smile and hands on her hips, her honey eyes taking in the ocean. The thick smell of salt mixing with the otherworldly smell of fresh rainfall, and she felt her nerves shiver in joy.

Cupping a hand next to her mouth, she called to someone behind her. "You coming?! It's beautiful!"

"Hold your horses bud, I'm comin'." a deep, familiar voice replied.

The young woman smiled brightly, and giggled to herself, hugging herself happily.

Then, like a distant memory, it faded into white.

Frisk blinked, the haze of sleep still heavy on her, and she groaned deeply. Sleep clung to the edges of her mind like a hangover, and she buried her face into a warm place that smelled of spice and bones. Pausing, she suddenly became more alert of where she was. More alert of the shifting under her, and of the tightening grip around her waist.

She peaked out from the warm dark place, only to be staring up at the sleeping face of Sans. Woah, how did she get here? She remembered that she had forfeited to the skeleton below her at the demand of a shared nap, but...heat clung to her cheeks. She kind of just expected him to be awake long before her and to wake up alone. Like how it was when she was ten. But...here he was, sleeping under her. Heat clawed at the back of her neck and at the tip of her ears, fully realizing how inappropriate it probably was to be laying on top of someone, even if they were a skeleton!

A sharp snore and a hum, then shifting and arms tightening around her caused her face to catch fire. Her honey eyes bore holes into him, like a magnifying glass amplifying the rays of the sun. Good god, she should have never agreed to nap with him, this was too much!

A deep sigh snapped her out of her mental rampage, and he shifted his forehead against her shoulder affectionately. She stared at him, and swallowed hard at the sign of affection. H….huh.

Shifting herself as to not wake the sleeping skeleton, she rested her left elbow next to his skull and hovered her fingers over Sans skull. Her fingers grazed over the contours of his skull, along the edges and hollows, the sharp cracks and the smooth surfaces. Her fingers danced over the exposed teeth of his constant grin, even though it was more childlike in sleep, to finally the bizarre bags under his eyes.

Her soul weighed heavy at that. How could such a great guy hold so much weight on his shoulders? She could feel her own bags under her eyes grow heavier in knowledge. Oh yeah.

The different timelines, the many loads, and how the two of them were the only ones to remember, pacifist of genocide.

A tired smile rested on her as her fingertips grazed around the corners of his smile, the lining of his mouth. It was sort of romantic, in a twisted way, that it was this way. No matter what happened, there would always be them, with their shared memories that no one else had. She could be gone for years, and yet, she would always be back here, with the wonderful melancholic skeleton. As if time had stopped in her absence and started again.

By the time she came out of her thoughts she stared at two white dots watching her. Her fingers had stopped over the lining of his teeth, where she could feel something akin to a lower lip, and before she could do anything else he only grinned and pulled her close. Her face slid next to his, where it was buried into the crook of where his collarbone met his spine, and she could feel his teeth press against the top of her head.

"How long we've been out?" he asked, a deep gravel to his voice.

Frisk gripped at the fabric of his jacket, her voice caught in her throat, and she could only shake her head. She shrugged after there was no reply.

After a minute or so Sans sunk into the couch further and started to run his hands up and down her spine. A soft gasp left her before she could stop it, but he either didn't hear it or was too lazy to acknowledge it.

Five minutes, and she almost drifted back to sleep. She shifted and sighed into the crook of his bones, causing him to shiver and stop. Her eyes peered up at him, yawning and resting her forehead against his jaw.

"Hhhmmmn…" she groaned, draping her arms around his neck and leaning against him more. "Sans…" he hummed. Another yawn from her. "How long we been asleep?" she mumbled.

Sans yawned, blinking lazily and craning his head to the digital numbers below the T.V. His grin curled as he held Frisk close. "'Bout a half hour." he yawned and buried his face into the crook of her neck, taking in the smell of her. Berries and vanilla.

He stretched, holding her close while feeling his bones pop into place and joints cracking happily. Frisk only bent with him, being malleable as long as she stayed in the comfort of his arms. Sans settled and hummed into her shoulder, causing her to giggle softly.

This was nice, Sans decided in his half awake half asleep state. This could become a regular thing. He forgot how much he liked napping, since he pretty much stopped napping when Frisk was taken away. He pretty much stopped sleeping in any form since then, only doing so when his body told him to. Something about guilt and fear and his inabilities to help the person that helped them. But this, this was nice, sleeping with his favorite human and holding them close and being around them. It made up for lost time.

Not to mention seeing her analyzing him, taking in his face, how her fingers felt and the tender look in her eyes, it made him - his eyes snapped open as he grinned nervously.

Oh, that's not good. He sat up, leaning Frisk into a sitting position. She blinked at him gawkingly, confused by the sudden shift. Rubbing one of her eyes with a balled fist, she blinked at him tiredly through the other. "Sans? What's wrong?" She yawned widely.

Sans, fully awake, grinned at Frisk lazily. He was always good at keeping up appearances. "Just remembered, gotta get ready for work."

Just as he turned to walk away he was stopped by Frisk grabbing onto his hand. He almost busted a gut over the irony of it. Instead he turned to look at her, as easy grin strained.

And there she was, determination in her eyes and a pout on her lips and his soul flipped in his ribcage. His body tensed, so he closed his right eye and looked at her with his left. "What's up kid?"

Frisk huffed, her eyes sparkling as she stared up at him with furrowed brows. "Sans, you're going to get some rest, right?" She gripped his hand, as if clinging to it. "I mean, a half hour isn't much for rest, and you don't work until late, right? So…" She puffed her cheeks at the lack of a reaction from Sans.

Not to say there wasn't much reaction going on at all in him. His body burned to scoop up the small human and hold her close and be so close with her, to sleep and sleep and to never wake up unless it was seeing her. But he couldn't very much do that, now could he? So instead he opted for the best poker face he could manage and ignore the voice in his head. It was only his magic acting up, he knew better.

Sans rested a hand on her head, patting it a couple times, then pulled away and gave her his best smile. "Yeah kiddo, I'm gonna sleep like the dead, and then get ready for the graveyard shift." he winked at her, before stuffing his hands into his jacket pockets and making his way up the stairs.

With a resounding shut of the door Frisk sighed deeply. She stared at her hands, at her fingers, her mind wandering to feeling his skull and the closeness of what happened. She squeezed her hands into fists when Sans basically pushed her away for some weird reason. Yeah, she kind of found the intimacy of it a bit overwhelming, but it was actually really…

...Nice.

Shaking her head rapidly she pushed herself up from the couch. Frisk slapped her own cheeks a couple times, and her body was filled with determination. Determination to not linger on these weird feelings, determination to not get caught up in whatever feelings she was feeling for whatever reason, and most importantly, determination to go out into the world without fear of whomever was stalking her and getting some amazing movies to watch with her friends!

Out the door she went, unknowing that Sans disappeared as soon as he closed his door.

…

Gabby reared up on the couch, her silhouette matching with the t-rex in the animated movie they were watching. "ROARRRRR!" the yellow girl cried out, her red mane frizzled into practically a circle. You could practically see the static that clung to the vivid strings of hair, and when she flung herself at Papyrus there was lightning followed by a loud noise from him, somewhere between a scream of pain and a croak of surprise. "IMA A MUTHERCLUCKIN TREX!" she chewed at his arm, more drool than bite.

Papyrus only smiled as a few drops of orange sweat clung to his skull. "YES YOU ARE GABRIELLA." a pat on the head of the young golden girl was a mistake though, as a loud snap followed by a solid pop made Papyrus flinch and nurse his zapped fingers. "NYEHEHEH…" Gabby roared innocently and proceeded to crawl over Papyrus until she was perched on his shoulders.

Frisk laughed as she glanced back into the living room where they were left. "Gosh, six already?" She smiled at the two mothers who were beaming in their own way. Alphys was smiling humbly, her head resting against Undyne's side as she fiddled her hands. Undyne was smiling from fin to fin, her chest puffed out in pride as she closed her one eye.

"Yeah! Wish ya coulda been here to watch her grow though punk!" she punched Frisks arm affectionately, causing the human to chuckle and nod.

"Me too, it was probably amazing to see Undyne carry to term!"

Undyne howled in laughter and squeezed Alphys close. "Was all Alf's deal."

Frisk gawked at Alphys, who just laughed and nodded, beaming at this point. "Y-yeah, I b-brought our little h-hell raiser i-into this w-world." She smiled sweetly at Frisk.

Frisk was in tears, smiling largely as she pressed her hands to her chest. Seeing these two, together and so much in love and with a child of their own filled her with so much determination. So much more of something else too...compassion? She couldn't quite put her finger on it. The two friends eyed the human worriedly, but before any words could be expressed Frisk flung herself at the two and held them close.

"I'm so happy for you both!"

Undyne laughed nervously before patting Frisk heavily on the back, and Alphys surprisingly returned the sign of affection. "I-it's all th-hanks to you, Frisk." Alphys pulled away and smiled in a motherly way at Frisk.

A loud ding sounded through the kitchen, causing the three of them to pull away from the conversation.

A gasp came from the living room, followed by a sound that grew louder and louder. Footsteps. Frisk blinked in confusion, but was pulled back by a golden clawed hand. Two steps back, until Frisk was standing next to an amused, if not exhausted Alphys, who just smiled and crossed her arms as she leaned back against the counter. Frisk turned her attention back to Undyne, who was crouched in a catching position.

"GABBY GET BACK HERE YOU HAVE NOT SEEN THE RESOLVE OF WHETHER THE SMALL REPTILES GET TO THE LARGE CLEARING WHERE THE LARGER REPTILES ARE WAITING FOR THEM!" A blur of gold and red flew in front of Frisk and Alphys, sending Undyne skidding back a few feet and almost leaving a dent in the refrigerator. A frazzled Papyrus arrived at the entrance to the kitchen, and his eyes nearly popped out of his skull. "MY FOOD MUSEUM!" he rushed forward and inspected the damage, then turned to the mother and child and started the nightly scolding.

The smell of burning caught Frisks attention, and while Papyrus went over the list of what one should not do in a residential kitchen that was not your own, Frisk went to the large pasta pan and found that all the water had evaporated! The human gawked at the oddness, seeing that the spaghetti was even on fire a little, but otherwise seemed to actually be cooked properly, even if there was no more water. Then again, this was the skelebro's home, where magic fluctuated and odd things were quite normal inside these walls. Also, this was Papyrus's domain, where annoying dogs wound up in bone drawers and spaghetti was always cold even when on fire.

Clearing her throat caused Papyrus to come out of his ramblings and push everyone out of the kitchen. "DINNER SHALL BE DONE IN TEN MINUTES, IF MY CALCULATIONS ARE CORRECT, SO RETURN TO THE MOVIE ABOUT THE SMALL AND LARGE REPTILES! I SHALL CALL WHEN IT IS DONE!"

The four ladies laughed about what had happened, and took their places on the couch. Gabby took up impersonations again, and the three found it more entertaining than what was on the screen itself.

The rest of the night went by tamely in comparison; Gabby actually ate -most- of the spaghetti, enjoying the crunchy parts the most. Undyne was overly enthusiastic about the burnt parts that clung to her noodles, and how the sauce seemed to boil even without the need for a heat source itself! Alphys was just happy to have a somewhat normal meal with her family, and Frisk was impressed by how much Papyrus's cooking improved. Papyrus was so proud of his meal, and so he packed it up, labled it as 'THE BEST MEAL YET!', same with the rest of the meals, and stuffed it in the front left corner of the 'food museum'.

One and a half movies into the night and Gabby was passed out on Alphys. The loving couple bid the tall skeleton and small human a good night once the second movie was over with. Once they were gone Papyrus took to cleaning the small home, and Frisk tapped her lip in thought.

The pull of the mountain from earlier jabbed at her, and Sans words about Papyrus leaving for a couple days prodded at her curiosity.

Maybe...maybe there was more to this than she had been considering. The fear of Chara was overwhelming, and for the most part that part of herself kept to themselves. But...maybe there was a missing part of the equation, which involved that mountain.

For her sanity she needed to know.

Clearing her throat she followed after the lanky skeleton. "Hey, Papyrus?"

The humming and clanking of dishes from the kitchen halted briefly. "HMM? YES, FRISK THE HUMAN?" he peaked down at her over his shoulder, at the small human who seemed bashful in this moment. Bashful and Frisk never really meshed well in his mind, so he turned his full attention to her. "WHAT IS WRONG?"

Frisk rubbed her arm, her brows furrowing as she tried to think of how to approach this. She didn't want to come off as crazy, and god forbid she do something to make the tall skeleton in front of her wary.

Papyrus grinded his teeth in worry before crouching in front of her. Once at eye level, or as close as one could be with such a height difference, he rested a hand on her shoulder. "FRISK, WHATEVER IT MAY BE, UNDERSTAND THAT I HAVE A VERY OPEN MIND. I WAS TRAINED TO DEAL WITH SENSITIVE INFORMATION, SO PLEASE UNDERSTAND THAT YOU CAN TALK WITH ME ABOUT ANYTHING." his loud tone was full of compassion and understanding, causing her to reconsider him.

With a nod she looked at him with determination leaking out of her pours. "I need to know about the mountain."

A blink. Then another. He opened his jaw, then closed it, and then blinked down at the floorboard. His hand never left her shoulder though, and as if she was an anchor to his thoughts he stared her determination down. "AH. I FIGURED IT WAS SOMETHING, BUT THIS WAS OVER MY HEAD." he closed his sockets and sighed. "BUT YOU, MY FIRST HUMAN FRIEND, SPEAK BEST WHEN NOT BEATING AROUND THE BUSH. ALRIGHT, JUST LET ME FINISH IN THE KITCHEN AND THEN WE CAN TALK OF THINGS PERTAINING TO THE MOUNTAIN EBOTT."

With kitchen freshly clean and the scent of lemons drifting through the air, Papyrus sat next to Frisk at the small dining table. She was taken out of her thoughts as a mug of tea was set in front of her. She looked up at the source, who seemed strained but still optimistic.

"I AM NOT SURE HOW MUCH MY KNOWLEDGE CAN GIVE YOU SOLACE, BUT I HOPE THAT WHAT I DO KNOW SHALL BE ENOUGH!" Papyrus smiled brightly at the troubled human, who returned the smile and gripped the warm mug.

Frisk nodded and sighed, closing her eyes tightly. "Sans said something about you leaving town for a couple days, to talk with monsters in neighboring towns and cities. About Mt. Ebott." her eyes slid open, and it troubled Papyrus deeply how much her expression reflected his older brothers.

"AH. BROTHER. YES, THAT DOES MAKE SENSE, HOW YOU WOULD COME ACROSS THAT KNOWLEDGE." Papyrus sighed, and it seemed that a weight had been lifted off his shoulders. He breathed in the steam of the golden liquid before continuing. "WELL, KING ASGORE APPOINTED ME TO CHECK IN ON THE NEARBY MONSTER COMMUNITIES. HE TOOK NOTE OF THE GREATNESS OF I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS!" he beamed like a child. It faded slightly though as he sighed once again. "THERE WAS SOMETHING THAT HAPPENED THOUGH, ABOUT A WEEK AGO. TEN DAYS TO BE MORE PRECISE." he glanced at Frisk who was watching him with wide-eyed curiosity. Papyrus felt pride at that. "THERE WAS A TREMOR, BUT NOT ONE THAT WAS NOTED BY HUMANS AS PER EXAMPLE OF HUMANS THAT LIVE IN TOWN. NONE OF THEM FELT THE EFFECTS OF THE TREMOR, BUT THE MONSTERS, WELL, WE ALL BECAME ILL FOR A COUPLE DAYS."

Frisk furrowed her brows at that. This was wild, crazy. A tremor that shook the entire region. A tremor that affected the magically attune creatures of the region. Though...that could explain why...she gripped at where her soul would be floating.

Papyrus nodded, knowingly. A long sip of his tea as he considered everything. "IT MADE THE BOSS MONSTERS MORE ILL THAN OTHERS. DOCTOR ALPHYS DID A CHECK ON EVERY MONSTERS STATS THAT HAVE SEEN HER, WHICH ARE STILL CONTINUING MIND YOU…" he looked exhausted as he hunched forward.

Frisk rested her hand on his, causing him to jump. A gentle smile was shared between the two friends.

"FRISK, IT TOOK AWAY HEALTH POINTS."

The human girl paled, and her grip on his hand tightened, and he rested his other hand on her shaking ones.

"THANKFULLY IT WAS NOTHING TOO DRASTIC, THOUGH…" he sighed and closed his eyes. He patted Frisks hands. "THOUGH, KING ASGORE WANTS US TO CHECK ON THE OTHER MONSTERS, AS WELL AS MAGICALLY SENSITIVE HUMANS. SO, MYSELF AND THE DOG GUARD SQUAD ARE SETTING OUT FOR A COUPLE DAYS. SANS DEMANDED TO COME WITH, BUT…" he cleared his throat. "But...I do not know if he could handle anything in his state. Even if he didn't seem to take any damage, he refuses to be checked out." His words came out the softest she had ever heard them, and this clawed at her core.

A fist slammed to the table, causing Papyrus to flinch at the sudden sound. "He won't get himself checked out?!" she stood up, her fear and worry swirling into a wad of wrath. "The guy that knows his limitations won't get himself checked out?!" she pushed away from the table, ignoring the scraping of a chair and the heavy foot steps.

"HUMAN ARE YOU ALRIGHT?"

Frisk scoffed. "Yeah, of course I'm alright! But he won't be after I have a talk with him." she muttered, walking towards the front door.

Before she could open the front door though it opened and she was standing face to face with the man of the hour. Sans, who blinked in confusion as he nearly jumped at the sudden appearance of her.

"Uh...kid?" he took in her expression, and slid into the home between her and the entrance. He eyed Papyrus, who seemed confused as to what expression to make for this whole thing. "...Pap, I thought you'd be in bed by now…" he glanced at Frisk, who was now crossing her arms and puffing her cheeks. Blue sweat started to form as he looked to Papyrus for help. "...want me to read to ya? Good night story and all that?"

Frisk's grip on Sans was tight, and thank whatever god was out there that there was padding enough to not break his bones. "Sans, a word?"

Papyrus at this time was in the kitchen, cleaning off a fresh layer of dust. Sans only smiled and looked at her through one eye. "I think that counts for three kid."

She sighed, closing her eyes and rubbing her temple with her free hand. "How come you didn't get checked up?" Sans blinked at her, confused.

"Uh...gotta get me up to speed. Checked up on what?"

Frisk groaned and stared at him, determination burning like a grease fire in her eyes. Nothing in the way of words was going to deter her. "When the mountain shook!"

Sans' whites dimmed out completely, leaving two pits of black that were to swallow her whole if she were anyone else. "Huh. Dunno what you're going on about kiddo."

"Don't play that Sans! I felt it!" She snapped, flailing her arms around and performing quite a show in her performance. When she finally stuck to one pose it was that of frustration. "I felt the mountain shake, I felt the magic of the underground grab at me!" Sans smile fell from his face, and he looked like he saw a ghost.

"...Ah, so that's why you came back sweetheart. Not for us, but because of the mountain."

All frustration and anger was gone from her, and instead was fear. "What? Sans, of course I came back for you. For all of you." she reached out for him, gripping at the sleeve of his jacket. "I care, and I needed to know if…"

Sans looked at her, his dim whites back in place, and he looked ragged. So exhausted, but he only shook his head and smiled. "Don't worry kid, I'm fine. Checked my stats myself. Alph is great and all at what she does, but I don't want her anywhere near my soul."

Frisk bit her lower lip, stepping forward and standing directly in front of him. "Then let me see."

A long silence, with Sans staring at her as if she grew a new head.

She frowned, staring up at him. "Let me see it!"

Sans snorted, as if she told some risqué joke. "What?"

"I'm not going to ask again Sans!"

He ruffled her hair, before stepping away and walking up to his room. "Don't keep Paps up for too long. He's got big important stuff to do in the morning."

Papyrus peaked out of the kitchen, and him and Frisk exchanged a worried look.

Then, the two skeletons froze in their place. The ground seemed to tremble below them, their forms outlined in the colors of their magic and trembling, shaking and vibrating quickly where they stood. Frisk felt this too, her outline in red as her whole body shook and every nerve in her body seemed to split and unfurl. Her heart clenched and her soul seemed to be screaming out as she could feel the core of Mt. Ebott claw at her and those around her.

A loud sound, vibrations from the core of their world, and the magic they each held popped and hummed violently, and then it all went silent as the world went from color, to black and white, to finally nothing.

 _ **I'm waiting Frisk.**_

 **...**

 **Yeah! Plot! Thank you for reading, please review!**


	9. Step 9 - Treatment

**Hey guys, welcome to the next chapter.**

 **I, uh, don't have much to say? Life's been weird, as it always is.**

 **Reply:**

 **Madmalitiangamer: Aww thank you.**

 **Enjoy, and remember, I don't own Undertale**

 **...**

Black. There was only pitch black.

Her footsteps echoed through the nothingness, and Frisk thought for a moment that there was possibly a floor, or something to make sense of this emptiness. But there was no floor. There were no walls, or a ceiling. Only the reflection of her form that faded at her knees.

With every step it was like a ripple, her colors reaching out until they finally faded at a certain point.

Frisk looked around, unsure, yet this all felt familiar. So very familiar.

Cupping a hand to her mouth she cried out into the void. "Hello? Is anyone there?"

Her words too echoed and warbled into nothingness, the tones her voice held twisted and split until they spread into their own strings until they petered out.

Frisk could only hug herself, and she finally noticed the cold of this place.

Every breath turned into a cloud, and the darkness seemed to take a blue tint, if that was even possible. A cold clung to this emptiness, and her soul cried for her to turn around. Her footsteps continued though, as they too echoed through the nothing.

Her feet hit grass, a patch of golden buttercups, and purple brick walls surrounded her. A gasp left her, and there he was.

Flowey.

Poor lonely Flowey.

He was sitting in the center of the patch of flowers, looking up at the light in the sky, waiting. A wistful look in his otherwise broken expression.

The part of him that was Asriel was gone. All that was left was a bitter shell of himself, and yet he seemed lost in himself. No longer bitter, no longer vengeful, just lonely.

"He won't be able to hear you Frisk." A dualtone voice said.

Frisk didn't dare turn around, to the girl that had been haunting her. Those red lines where eyes should be, or that painted on crescent moon turned upright.

"Frisk, look at me." the voice demanded, causing Frisk to grip her hands into tight fists. Anger built up in her.

"Why did you drag me back down here Chara?"

"Chara?"

Frisk furrowed her brows, curiosity overriding her senses. When she turned though, it wasn't Chara waiting for her, but Gaster.

A cold lump sat at her core, as she stared into the error code that made up his form. Numbers and symbols running in vertical lines, the only thing not shifting were his dual colored eyes. Cobalt and neon orange.

"Do not worry child, I am not here to hurt you. Only to talk."

Frisk scowled at him. "What could we possibly talk about? I saved the monsters, I freed them from the underground! Even if Flowey didn't come with, I offered it to him!" Her voice sounded more pained than she thought possible.

Gaster only smiled patiently at Frisk. "Frisk, the angel from the above, there are monsters you have not saved."

This hit her, harder than she thought it should have. Who? Who did she miss? Who didn't she save? She searched his dual eyes for information, but he was unreadable.

He went to speak, but before he could she gasped loudly and sat up in a blinding white room. She panted heavily, and when her eyes focused she was staring at a sleeping Alphys. Adjusting to the room she noted that she was in a sort of hospital room, though there were some machines used for measurements. She wasn't really sure what kind though.

A groan came from the golden woman as she huffed and shifted, then soft snores returned. Frisk looked at Alphys with concern, her eyes lidding as she noted how dark it was in the room. Yes, there were some lights, but the overheads had been shut off. Stars were visible from the single window in the room, though she was concerned. Maybe it had been a short time that she had been here, but the piles of papers and graphs and notes didn't give her much hope.

Frisk shifted to leave the bed, and as she plucked a wire from her arm a loud beeping sound came from one of the machines, startling both Frisk and Alphys.

"OHGODFRISKNOTAGAIN!" Alphys whirled around and blinked at the lack of Frisk lying in the bed. Looking up at the startled human she chuckled and pushed up her glasses. "Oh good, you're awake!" she let out a deep breath and put her clawed hand to her chest.

With a few button pushings the machine was silenced, leaving Frisk with a blaring question. Again? She eyed Alphys as she yawned. "What did you mean by 'again' Alphys?"

"Hmm?" Alphys blinked at Frisk, then smiled nervously. "Ah, yes, w-well." she adjusted her glasses. "You sort of...c-cut out for a few m-minutes."

"What does that mean?"

"Ahmmm….Y-you sort of e-expelled your s-soul, is what I m-mean."

Frisk pailed as she stared at the older woman. "I...died?"

A sort of groan-whine sounded from Alphys. "Not exactly. Your h-heart beat was still going, b-but your soul w-was not with you."

"Ah." Frisk stared at her hands, her mind racing and yet was still hazy and bogged down by unconsciousness. Though, she had strong questions that stood out in her mind. "How did I even..get here?"

Alphys' smile only became more nervous as she looked around the small room, with walls made from pull-around curtains on a ceiling tram. Lights from outside the small area reflected and left a dull glow on the white curtains. "Papyrus." Frisk became fully alert at that.

Oh gods, oh stars, him and Sans were probably going through the same thing, but most likely worse. She chewed her lip at the idea of the two skeletons in any pain.

Alphys stood to her feet and padded over to Frisk's side, grabbing a damp cloth and pressing it to Frisk. It felt nice against her heated skin. "He s-sort of arrived the w-way he does, w-with you and Sans s-scooped up in h-his arms, and he c-collapsed on the spot. T-thankfully our h-human s-staff was there, b-because the m-monsters sort of short circuited where they stood." Alphys laughed half-heartedly.

Frisk eyed Alphys and rested a hand on her shoulder. The short reptile jumped at the contact, but only smiled timidly at Frisk. "Is Gabby okay? Undyne?"

Alphys started to sweat, then glanced around the room, not wanting to meet Frisk. "G-gabby bounced back soon enough, b-bless that sweet child. Undyne t-though, she is still f-feeling the toll this t-tremor did."

A stiff silence. "How about you? How are you doing?"

Alphys laughed and shrugged, fiddling her hands. "I-it was rough, b-but I j-just ate some monster ramen and I f-felt good as new. S-speaking of which…" She shuffled through some things and pulled out a cinnabunny. "H-here, eat this. Y-you should feel good as n-new."

The pastry filled Frisk with warmth, as she felt her body start to tingle and then wash over with a sort of minty feeling. "Hmm!" She blinked and eyed the thermometer held up to her. Frisk held it in her mouth and watched as it recorded her temperature. 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit.

"W-wonderful. Better th-than the 101.8 from e-earlier." Alphys took the little gauge and jotted down some notes.

Frisk finished the pastry and sighed as her body tingled from actually having something in her system.

Though, something itched in her. Under her skin. It wasn't anything physical, but it couldn't be ignored. She tried to look around the curtains, into other areas of the room to only see dividing curtains for others. Alphys watched her young friend from the corner of her eye, her hand still jotting down notes while her attention was turned to Frisk.

"Um...so...how long have I been in here?" she asked nervously, still looking around.

Alphys glanced at her piles of notes. "Seventy-two hours." She almost whispered, and she flinched from the sudden attention of the human.

"What?!"

Alphys laughed nervously and scratched at her scales. "You needed rest. T-the boys h-haven't really w-woken up yet either. S-seems monsters o-on your block and c-closer to t-the mountain got the brunt of the v-vibrations."

Seventy-two hours. Seventy-two hours?! Frisk pushed herself up from the bed, the wires still attached to her popping off as she walked out of the makeshift room.

"F-frisk!" Alphys called after her. The human didn't care though, she needed to see Papyrus. She needed to see Sans.

She passed many monsters recovering well, she passed many monsters still incapacitated. Furry monsters, scaly monster, even specter monsters, but no skeletons. Well, there were a couple small families of skeleton monsters, but they weren't her skeleton friends.

There were even a handful of humans that were knocked out from the blast the mountain sent to those in the town. But that didn't really matter to Frisk though.

Then, finally, a flash of unmistakable blue caught her eye, and she dove into the small room set up just like hers.

Papyrus and Sans. Oh bless whatever was watching over her. She stood next to Papyrus, looking him over. He seemed weak. She pulled up his stats, and sighed in relief at how there were only five health points missing. She almost collapsed to her knees at the weight off her shoulders. A soft snore from him in his trademark way reassured her that he was going to be okay. She ran a hand over his skull, and a smile rested on the skeleton.

Frisk then turned to Sans, who seemed worse for ware. Thankfully he was small enough to not take up too much space on the cot, so she took a seat next to him and took in his features. Despite being shaken up by whatever hit them he was still peaceful.

She tried to pull up his stats, but a buzzer sounded in her ear. A womp or a buzz, something like that. She furrowed her brows and tried again. Same sound.

Soft padding sounded from behind her, and stopped just next to her. Alphys sighed as she pushed up her glasses. "He w-wont let anyone check him."

Frisk bit her lower lip, trying to think of something. She needed to know he wasn't just hanging on by a fraction of a health point. It was even a miracle that he survived the first tremor if it was anything like what she just went through.

She sighed deeply, taking one of his hands and pressing it against her lips. She stared down at him as gripped his phalanges tightly. She started to hum softly as her eyes slid shut. A green glow started to travel down his hand, down his arm, and a soft green glowed around him. Alphys gasped, flittering around Frisk and staring at her in a panicked way.

"Frisk, don't! You're out of practice with your magic!"

"I don't care."

"B-but Frisk, you're not a child a-anymore, a-and we aren't in the u-underground anymore! The r-rate of you falling only r-rises th-the more you use a-any of your m-magic!"

Frisk shook her head, the fear of Sans being to the point of dusting if he even moves too much for her to bear.

Alphys started to hyperventilate. "Frisk! You could die!"

"Kid...stop." Frisk's eyes snapped open as she stared down at Sans, and instantly the green glow around them died out. A scowl was on his face as he looked up at her through one lidded eye. "Listen to the nice doc and knock it out." He huffed as blue sweat formed on him.

Frisk could only smile at him, but then the room shifted, tilting, as forms of things jutted and left echoes of themselves. The world was spinning and thankfully Alphys caught her. Sans sat up instantly, his eyes wide and his hand outstretched.

"Crap." He muttered, scooting over as best as he could so that Frisk could lay down next to him. The weak human groaned as she grabbed her head and covered her eyes.

"Ugh...you weren't kidding about the magic thing…" she mumbled, panting as the world slowly corrected itself.

"What were you even thinking kid?" Sans snapped as he stared down at Frisk, who uncovered her eyes to look at him.

His soul sank at the tears in her eyes. "I was thinking I didn't want you to die…" she pressed her lips tightly together and she looked away, covering her eyes with her forearm.

Sans sighed and flopped onto the bed, groaning at jostling himself. "I told ya I'm fine kiddo. I may only have one health point, but I know how to protect it." he sighed, staring up at the ceiling and counting the squares.

Frisk laughed bitterly and nodded into her arm, causing Sans to look at her. "Yeah, silly me for being so worried about you."

He rolled onto his side to look at her fully. "Kid, while I appreciate it, I ain't worth dying over."

The look in her eyes made his soul race.

Alphys cleared her throat as she stood next to them with a bicicle. Splitting it in half she gave each of them a half, before pulling up a seat and taking notes.

The both of them felt refreshed, ready to tackle the world, and at this time a loud yell from behind Alphys made the three of them jump.

"DO NOT WORRY, FOR I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, SHALL GET MY BROTHER AND MY FRIEND TO THE HOSPITAL!" Papyrus shouted as he sat upright in bed. Sans and Frisk gawked, and Sans was at his side in an instant. Alphys had disappeared, only to return quickly with a nicecream.

Papyrus blinked at Alphys, then at his brother, and finally at Frisk, who were all watching him with concern.

He could only smile and tilt his head in confusion. "NYEH?"

Soon enough they were at peak health and discharged. Sans tried to get as much information out of Alphys as possible, but she was like a metal trap. She could only give them information that Frisk had gotten out of her; they were there for seventy-two hours, Papyrus was a champ in getting them there quickly, and monsters from their block and closer to the mountain were hit the hardest by this latest tremor.

Frisk trailed after the brothers, a distant look on her face. Three days. Three solid days. It wouldn't have bothered her so badly if it had felt like that, but no, it felt closer to an hour. Being in that void, talking with Gaster…

She stopped in her tracks as the snow started to fall around her.

Sans took note of this as he stopped as well. He glanced at Papyrus, who was looking between his older brother and the human Frisk. The human that saved them all those years ago, looking distant and fully troubled by something.

Sans clenched his fists before turning to Papyrus with a goofy grin. "Go on ahead bro, I'll take care of the kid."

Papyrus nodded, before realization struck him. He needed to be gone! He was supposed to be checking in on the monsters in the neighboring towns, and he had been sleeping for three days! With a twirl and a zip Papyrus had disappeared down the road.

Frisk sighed as she rubbed her face, exhaustion clinging at her even though she had gotten more sleep in the past three days than she had in years. Soft footfalls went in one ear and out the other, and only when his fingers touched her shoulder did she realize she wasn't alone. She shot him a tired look. "Do you...wanna talk?" Sans looked her over.

Frisk shook her head, then nodded, then paused, before going with resting her forehead against his shoulder. She knew what she had to do.

She had to go back to the underground, with all intentions of going it alone, and figuring out whatever Gaster wanted her to do. Her bones groaned at that idea, as the chill in the air became more intense.

She didn't like that idea, but what else could she do? Either he kept setting off what was hurting her friends, or else she would be struck down at her weakest by the little demon child that kept stalking her for no reason other than some sick form of vengeance.

His arms wrapped around her and pulled her close, and in an instant they were blipped out of the cold and into his room. He then flopped down onto bed, dragging her with.

Another nap, hopefully a long one, and when the sun rose she would make her trek up the mountain. She would slip out before anyone would notice.

She gripped his jacket, clinging to her dear friend, and into the void she slipped.

 **...**


End file.
